My Heart Is The Desert, Your Eyes Are The Ocean
by MartaSwan
Summary: "Oh my God, Nik, is that...a person?"Kol klaus squinted his eyes, trying to see what his brother was referring to. There, in front of them, not so far, was most certainly a person, barely visible between the dunes, laying in the sand. "What is your name?". "I don't know" the blonde girl said.- Klaroline. AH/AU.
1. Chapter 1

_June 2015_

_Fuck,_ she thought, coughing violently. Her face was against the ground, her neck hurt, her mouth eating dust. She felt her throat scratchy. There was sand everywhere: in her mouth, in her nostrils, on her face and under her clothes. She couldn't breathe. It was hot, way too hot, and she was sprawled on the ground. It was earth, sand…not tiled nor cemented . she didn't seem to be in a a second it reminded her of when she was little and used to throw herself on the ground while playing in the woods, during the warm summer afternoon in the South of her childhood. But there was grass then, life, the ground alive and flourishing. Now the ground was sandy and hot, so hot, arid and lifeless.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck_, she kept thinking in a loop.

She felt movement and coughing from somewhere near her. She had something on her eyes, ablindfold of sorts. She couldn't see anything. And she couldn't move her hands, they were tied at her back.

"Hello?" she rasped tentatively. It hurt to talk.

"Caroline?" she heard a male voice answer back, raspy as well.

"Stefan?" she said more forcefully now, feeling a bit relieved. "Are you ok? What happened? Where are we? How are the others?" she kept asking, still whispering. Her throat was protesting, she desperately wanted to just shut up and drink tons of water because _fuck it hurt_, but she had to ask.

She was trembling. She was scared.

"I don't know. I can see anything" he groaned. She felt shuffling, probably him trying to move. "Damon!" he called in the blackness "Damon!" he kept rasping out in a vain attempt at shouting.

No answer.

She lied down and stretched as much as she could. Great, her ankles were tied too. _Of fucking course_. She stretched and tried to move in circles so to use her body as a tool to measure the space around her and to feel if there was something or someone around her. She felt something that she thought was a leg. She tried to kick it. "Stefan is that you?", her voice was a bit more forceful now. Oh she would kill for a sip of water.

"No, why? What are you doing?" he asked, scared.

She kept kicking and didn't answer him. Honestly, she didn't know what she was doing.

She heard groaning, and it sounded male. "What the fuck?" the man groaned, more annoyed than pained by the feeble kicks and tried to move.

"Damon?" Stefan asked.

"Stefan? Stefan what the hell is going on? Where are we? What happened? I can't see anything!" Damon

coughed, now fully awake.

"I don't know", the brother answered, his fear plain.

"Where is Elena?" Damon asked, panicked. "Elena!" he half whispered, half shouted, sounding like an old man who smoked way too much. "Elena!" he kept going.

"I don't think she's here" Caroline said.

"Caroline? Are you here? Where are we? Are you okay?" Damon asked her, "Where is Elena? And Bonnie?" he kept going. "I'm tied up, I can't move. Fuck!" he groaned, probably trying to pull at his strings. She tried too but it was no use, the only result her struggling produced was sored and probably rough wrists.

"I'm as okay as you are. I know nothing. I can't see a thing!" she said, "I don't they're here."

"We're here" she heard Elena's frail voice coming from somewhere. She sounded close, but not as close as Damon or Stefan.

"Elena, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Damon asked frantically and she could hear him move, trying to reach his girlfriend.

"I don't know" she groaned, "Bonnie's on top of me" she coughed "she's unconscious, and she's kind of crashing me" she panted. Caroline could hear her pain, and she was glad she didn't have a person's weight on top of her, breathing was difficult enough as it was.

"Can any of you see anything?" she asked. God, being unable to see was frightening her more than she already was.

"No", Stefan's dejected voice came.

"No", Elena answered, barely audible.

"No, fuck!", Damon coughed.

"Great", she said. _Just perfect._

"How the hell did we get here?" Damon asked, his voice stronger now. "Can any of you remember? I don't remember a damn thing!". He was mad, that much was obvious. His madness was covering his terror, that much was obvious.

"Nothing", Stefan said.

"Me too" said Elena.

Caroline tried to remember. She tried but she couldn't. So she did was she used to do when she couldn't find where she had put her car keys: if you can't remember where you last saw them, trace back all you did, every single step of your day since the last time you had them.

And so she did.

_They had decided to spend their summer away. Somewhere exotic and far away from old, boring Mystic Falls. It was Bonnie's idea: Egypt. At first they weren't sure: a different culture (would the girls be comfortable there? Of course, they were Egyptians, not barbaric, they shouldn't let stupid prejudices rule them, Bonnie countered), food (would they be sick? What if they were allergic to some spices or they stomachs were too delicate? They'll grow strong then, Bonnie laughed), language (They were a British colony, they can speak English, especially in the typical tourists areas where we'll be most of the time, Bonnie explained), climate (didn't you want to go somewhere exotic? Bring some sunscreen, cover yourself and you'll be fine, Bonnie reasoned). At the end they bought the ticket to Cairo and decided that June was the perfect time to go, based on the weather and the tickets price._

_The plane ride had been long, but totally worth it. They were staying in a nice hotel in the center of the capital. The people were nice, the food was unexpectedly good and the torrid sun was kept at bay with lots of water, a full block sunscreen and long sleeved t-shirts and pants. They travelled to the historical areas of course, and they were amazed. Of course, America had it ancient buildings, but they were still of 1800s, nothing compared to the artifacts that went back up until ten thousands of years ago._

_At the end of the first week (they were supposed to stay there for two weeks), they decided to go around the markets to buy presents and souvenirs for the people home. The boys and the girls split up and everything was fine. At one point, while Elena was looking for a necklace that would fit her sister Katherine's extravagant tastes, a man approached her. He was tall, blonde, he talked funny, had an accent she couldn't recognize. He seemed friendly and told her that he too was looking for something for his wife. Caroline watched the scene from a distance, not really alarmed, but thinking it was better to keep her eyes open. She pulled out her phone and texted Damon and Stefan, wanting the group to be together. _

_She could swear, on her life, it couldn't have taken her more than a minute to type and send the text._

_Apparently a minute was all it took, because Elena and the blond man were gone._

"_Bonnie!" she caught her friend's arm, alarmed "Where is Elena?" ._

"_Mmmh?" Bonnie answered distractedly, tearing her eyes from a shirt she eyed for her father, watching Caroline with wide eyes._

"_Elena's gone!" Caroline said frantically, her heart beating madly, her breath ragged, her eyes scanning the crowd over and over, back and forth, looking for the familiar brown head._

"_What?" Bonnie dropped the shirt and turned around in the direction of the stand Elena was supposed to be at._

"_She was talking to a man and now I can't see her!" Caroline replied, running through the river of people to the stand her friend was in front of just moments ago._

"_Excuse me" she said to the old man behind the sort of counter "there was a girl here. Where did she go?". The man looked at her. "A girl!" Caroline said again, slower and louder "Brown hair, very beautiful, about this tall" she gestured with her hand Elena's height, trying to use common words that the man may know. "she was with a man. Tall" she gestured the man's height "blonde, blue eyes". She kept describing. The man kept staring at her. Great. Everyone there was able to speak some sort of English at least. Everyone, except for this man. The only useful man in that whole damned city. Of course._

_Caroline felt the panic rise and tears gather in her eyes. She couldn't breathe._

"_Caroline!" she heard someone call her. It was Damon, walking toward her along with Stefan. "Where Elena?" he asked as soon as he got to them._

_Caroline stared at him "I don't know" she whispered._

_Damon looked at her, furrowing his brows, stepping closer "What do you mean?" he asked, smiling for the briefest of seconds, speaking in a low voice "Where's Elena, Caroline?" he asked again, looking around, as if she was going to pop up any second._

_Caroline just kept staring at him, tears falling on her cheeks. He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her "Where's Elena Caroline!" he said shouting now, shaking her._

"_I don't know!" she cried. She felt weak in the knees._

"_There!" Bonnie shouted, pointing at a what seemed to be an alley, barely noticeable in that sea of people._

_They run toward it. There was Elena, struggling against the blonde man, that was forcing her to climb on a black SUV or jeep of sorts, Caroline wasn't really paying attention._

_It was all very fast, or maybe it wasn't and that was just Caroline's distorted perception of time._

_Damon and Stefan run to the man, they pried Elena from his hands, not without effort, and started punching him, while Elena went to the girls, all of them shaking and watching, hypnotized and frightened, the scene unfolding before them. _

_The two guys were having the upper hand, the man was on the ground, trying to shield himself from their blows. They were winning. They could just leave him there and run back to the hotel and fly back home. Screw the other week and the loss of money, Caroline wanted to go home._

_She had barely time to notice the shadows on the ground in front of her, her brain had barely the time to process that someone was behind them, when she felt a sting in her neck. She had barely time to realize she had been injected with something, a sedative probably, before her eyes started to close and the last thing she saw were Stefan's and Damon's scared faces looking straight at them, forgetting about the man on the ground, before everything went black._

"We were at the markets. A man took Elena and he wasn't alone" she recalled "someone must have drugged us up or something…fuck, fuck, fuck" she swore.

They were all going to die. Or worse. She had read about what they did to girls. They were forced to become prostitutes, sold like animals to the best bidder. Used ruthlessly to satisfy some sick twisted maniac's desires, beaten, drugged, raped, tortured and then, if they were lucky, killed, never to be found again. Especially girls like her, busty, blonde and with blue eyes. She had seen that Liam Neeson movie.

Caroline couldn't breathe.

She heard muffled footsteps, and what sounded like a door creaking open. Then she heard a male voice, with an American accent, "Well, well" he said, approaching slowly and heavily (he was either quite tall or quite build or her wore heavy shoes, Caroline didn't know what to hope for out of the three options that came to her mind), "What do we have here?" he asked. She could feel his smile, and it made her stomach crump and churn and twist in a sudden and intense spasm. He sounded so content and utterly satisfied and she was reminded of Tyler and how he sounded after they had sex, or when drinking his favorite brand of beer. _Oh God, Tyler_, she thought suddenly for the first time. _I'll never see him again. This is going to crush him, and my parents…No. I can't think about it._ Her heart beat so fast and loudly she could feel its sound in her ears and she could actually feel it physically pulse in her ears. _God, I want to die right know. Please, if you exist, save me or kill me. I don't want to be raped or tortured, _she pleaded. She had never believed that much in God, nor in some other kind of greater force or spirit, but right then, she wished with all her heart that someone or something good, loving, merciful and powerful existed. And she wished for it, or for anyone to save her.

She heard the steps stop in front of her and then a hand touching and sliding up her outer thigh. She whimpered, and the hand was at her back, taking her hands in his and pulling her up. "Come now" he said, calm and collected but nonetheless authoritative manner, "Walk", he commanded and led her to what she supposed was the door, since she was still living in a world of darkness. She managed to stumble in front of him, crying, hearing her friends screams behind her, and then she felt the warmth of the sun's rays on her skin, before being thrown in the back of a vehicle.

Then she felt another sting, meaning another injection, and she fell asleep.

* * *

_August 2015_

"Bleah! These creatures are simply gross, brother! I don't know why you like them so much!" the black haired young man said from atop of his dromedary.

The blonde man just shook his head, smiled and stared ahead at the desert.

"Seriously bro, they're disgusting and so not elegant at all!" he kept whining behind his older brother, who just kept ignoring him. "Why couldn't we just use horses?" he wondered, "Black horses! Elegant stallions running through the desert, with our charming selves dressed in white on top of them, riding in the red sunset light" he painted the picture he had so clear in his mind, it seemed true. A quick glance at the drooling animal below him, however, remind him how far from the truth that picture was.

"Kol, I understand that you aspire to be a director, but I feel my duty to remind you that real life is not a movie. And even if it was" the man turned, one hand holding the reins, the other resting confidently on his thigh, smirking arrogantly and mockingly at his younger brother, "do you really think that of the two of us, you will be the one to direct it?" he said.

Kol glared at him, furrowing his brows "Ah. Ah. So funny, Nik. You sure know how to make people love you" he said, sticking out his tongue childishly.

The man just ignored him and turned back to the desert. Ah it was wonderful, more so at sunset. He had wished to go at dawn to avoid the suffocating heat that would rise during the long days of August, but business demanded his attention and he opted for the sunset, the only other time of the day that was not too hot nor too cold. He had asked Kol to come along, since he had never seen the desert. If only he hadn't. Kol couldn't stop pestering him about the heat, and the sweat, and the clothes, and the smell and the animals. It was supposed to be something relaxing, not an easy task since they were accompanied by other three people, their bodyguards, and a guide, thanks to their controlling brother, _just in case_, he said. But now it was pretty much impossible. He didn't expect Kol to actually find the desert invigorating as he did, but at least he expected him to let his brother enjoy it. Or, at very least, not to bother him. Was it too much to ask?

"Tell me, Nik, why do you like this…things" he referred to the dromedaries "so much?"

Apparently, yes. It was way too much to ask.

Nik sighed "It is not so much that I like them Kol" he explained, "They're just the creatures that are most adapt to travel in this environment. They're fast, they know the land and its tricks, they move easily" he patted the side of his one " and they're incredibly resilient" he added. He respected those animals, and actually admired their strength. Strength was something he valued, and anything strong was worth his admiration. Strength was power. Strength, in a hostile location such as the desert, meant survival.

"Aw look at that! Nik fell in love!" Kol mocked "Why don't you marry yours and have some babies with it? I bet they wi-".

Silence around Kol was something rare. Kol not finishing a sentence was even rarer. Kol not finishing a sentence that was a mocking to him, was something unprecedented. Nik turned around to look at his brother, the caravan halting. Kol was squinting his eyes in the distance, looking at his right, leaning over his dromedary in an attempt to see better, "Oh my God, Nik, is that…" he whispered, leaning more, almost sprawled on the head of his ride. His eyes went wide, just as Nik's ones followed his gaze "A person?" he was still whispering.

Niklaus squinted his eyes, trying to see what his brother was referring to. There, in front of them, not so far, was most certainly a person, barely visible between the dunes, laid in the sand.

_I hope it is not a corpse_, Nik thought. It was not uncommon as someone may have thought to find bodies of people that got lost in the desert and succumbed to its heat and lack of water.

They made the dromedaries run to where the person was. Kol could finally see the use of those creatures. Nik jumped off his ride as soon as he got there and turned the girl (it was obviously a girl) on her back, holding her blonde, curly head on his arm, high and above the sand that seemed to be on every inch of her skin. Her skin was red, sun burned, raw and dry, with many cuts and bruises. She was skinny, her skin dirty, her clothes ripped and filthy. He checked her pulse at the base of her throat. She was alive. That was a miracle, who knows how long she had been there, without food or water. Judging by her cracked lips, definitely too long, he mused.

"Kol, get me some water" he commanded, and his brother gave him a bottle. He tried to wake her up and have her drink a little, but she was unmoving.

He scooped her up and carried her to his dromedary, hauling her up sideways on her stomach and climbing behind her, reins in hand.

"Call Elijah, tell him to get a doctor, she needs help!" he shouted, already sprinting toward home, his bodyguards following him suit.

"Already done that Nik" Kol shouted, right behind his brother.

They raced back home, making it in half the time they were supposed to, Nik carefully making sure the girl didn't fall of the ride nor get injured in some other way. The help was already at the door, opening it for him as he carried the unconscious girl through the main door, "Elijah!" he shouted, just a moment before his brother appeared in front of him, a man with a brown leather bag in his hand, the doctor.

"Here, lay her down her Niklaus" Elijah motioned to the big sofa in the nearest living room. He laid her down and moved away, letting the doctor check her.

"What happened?" Elijah asked.

Kol answered first, "We were riding in the desert, talking and then, out of nowhere, I saw something. At first I thought I had imagined it, that it was a trick of the light, but then I realized it was a person lying in the sand. God, it was awful… then Nik got to her, tried to wake her, but as you can see she was comatose, and we thought to take her here".

Elijah nodded, "You did the right thing. There wasn't much else you could have done actually. There is not an hospital near by. We were the better option", he concluded, ever the practical one.

The doctor came up to them, "The lady is not in a critical condition, she will make it given the right amount of food and water. However her cuts need to be treated. And not just those…is she family?" he asked, obliged to even if he already knew the answer.

"No," Elijah said, "but do not worry, we will not harm her. We'll take care of her until she wakes up and can tell us about her family, then we will send her back home. Please, speak freely doctor" .

The doctor nodded, "It appears she had been beaten. Badly, and for some time. She will need psychological support. Do I need to check if she was raped? I know it is personal and usually it would require consent, but if she is injured or wounded, or pregnant or has caught some disease, it is better to know right away and cure her. Of course it can wait until she wakes up", he informed them.

They were shocked. For the first time in a long time, neither of them knew what to do. Should they have a doctor check a stranger in such an intimate way for something such a personal and delicate matter? Rape… the three of them craned their heads to take a peek at the sofa, her feet the only visible part of her.

"Uhm, no. we will wait for her to wake up" Elijah said, concluding it was the moral thing to do. The most respectful choice. Of course, if she woke up soon, if that was not the case he will have her checked…or woken up with some medications cocktail, after all if they can put you into a drug induced coma, they can put you out if it too, right? He mused.

The doctor nodded, "Alright then. I will come back tomorrow, or as soon as she wakes, though I don't expect that to happen before tomorrow morning. Good evening " he bowed and went for the door, a butler opening it for him.

The three brothers stood in silence for a while. Then Elijah took the matter in his hands.

"Ahmed, take the miss and place her in one of the guest rooms on the first floor, please" he said to one of their butler. Niklaus was faster and he had her already in his arms, marching toward the elevator, earning a puzzled look by his brothers. "Niklaus, what are you doing?" Elijah asked perplexed.

He just shrugged as much as he could with the girl in his grip, "I'm taking her upstairs", he simply said. Then the elevator doors closed.

He looked down at her. He had never been the sentimental type, and he sure as hell wasn't planning on becoming one now, but he felt as if it was his duty to take her to the room. He had carried her home, he would carry her to her room. She was young, so young, and pretty. Her skin must have been fair some time ago, and flawless he would bet, her hair were long and matted now, but he was sure they were shiny and luscious once upon a not so long time ago. Her features were delicate, round and plump_. So young_, he thought. She wasn't his type, but he could see the draw. And now, she was wounded, broken and frail, she almost seemed old, her beauty temporarily ruined, obscured by something evil.

He walked down the corridor to the room he had decided it would be hers, the closest one to the elevator, the most practical choice. A butler was already there to open it for him. He entered and laid her down on the bed, covered her , looked at her one last time, and then he joined his brothers downstairs.

Dinner was quite. The three of them had so many questions, but none of them spoke them out loud. What was the point, when the only person that could answer them was sleeping upstairs?

"Will you return home tomorrow as planned?" Elijah asked Niklaus at some point during the evening.

"Of course" he answered, sipping at his scotch. He had the distinct feeling he was lying to his brother, though he couldn't fathom why. Of course he would leave. He wasn't lying to anyone.

Elijah nodded.

They went back to bed. None of them managed to get much sleep. By dawn they were standing in front of their guest's room. No sound came from it.

Elijah sighed "Well, I suppose we should check on her" he said, and turned the doorknob.

They stood there at the foot of her bed, and then, just like in the movies where the timing is, obviously, so perfect and convenient, she stirred, turning her face from one side to the other, eyes still close.

And then she opened them.

She looked at the three men, lined up at the foot of her bed, staring at her.

She sat up, trying to pull the sheets to cover her as much as possible, while scurrying as far from them as the bed permitted, her eyes wide and terrified. And then she screamed.

Okay, so maybe having her wake up to three men staring at her hadn't really been the best idea.

Elijah was the first to talk and approach her, arms outstretched, palms open in a reassuring gesture, "No, no, it's okay, you're okay. We are not here to hurt you" he said slowly. Did she even speak English? She didn't seem to understand what he was saying.

"What is your name?" he asked her slowly.

She looked at him, her eyes moving frantically over his form, examining him. The she took in her surrounding, and in the two men left in front of her. She looked Niklaus straight in the eyes for the briefest of seconds, then she looked back at Elijah, more frightened than before, if that was even possible.

"Non lo so" she whispered in what they recognized to be Italian. Thank their mother for forcing them to learn that useless language.

Unfortunately, they understood what she said, and looked at each other, frozen and worried, because what she had just said meant: _I don't know._

* * *

**_So, that's my new multi-chapter story. I really hope you like it and tell me what you think leaving a review. Sorry for any mistakes, it was not betaed. If someone would like to be my beta or do the cover for this story, feel free to Pm me!_**

**_I hope this is not offensive to anyone. I have never been in Egypt and I don't mean to pass on the idea that girls get kidnapped or worse. I just needed her to be near the desert. And I need her not to speak English at first (you'll see why) and I chose Italian simply because it's easier for me._**

**_Drop a review!_**

**_Thanks for reading._**


	2. Chapter 2

Sore. She felt sore. It hurt everywhere. Her bones, her muscles, her fingers, her toes, her head. She was pretty sure even her hair hurt.

Warm. She felt warmth on her skin. And softness. Something soft was enveloping her. She was horizontal, laying on something that was…comfortable. A bed, maybe? Her cheek was resting against something puffy and equally soft. She grazed it, first one side, then the other, it was amazing.

Then she opened her eyes. The light was blinding, she was sure there has never been a light so powerful, it was not natural. Her eyes protested, they stung. Everything was white and unfocused.

But, actually, it was not. That uncomfortable feeling was short lived, because the unnatural binding light was actually the most natural source of light in the universe. The sun. it was just the sun shining through a window, and it took her eyes just a few seconds to get used to it and take in her surroundings.

Standing in front of her, at the foot of what was indeed the bed she was laying in, were three men. Three tall, healthy, seemingly strong men, staring at her, hovering over her. And she was alone. In a room. With them.

In that moment the soreness and the ache didn't matter. She managed to move, adrenaline pumping in her veins, reading her muscles for either fight or flight. She would probably manage none of those. Her first instinct was to cover herself up, even if she didn't know if she was exposed or not. She just needed to shield herself, to cover herself, to protect her figure from their eyes, to disguise anything that might be potentially attractive to them. As if that thing sheet could actually protected, but instincts were irrational and automatic. Then, in a vain attempt to protect herself, or to give herself the illusion of the possibility of disappearing, or escaping, she wasn't really sure what her motivation was, she bundled up, sat up as close as physically possible to the head of the bed and curled up in a ball. Her heart was beating fast, so fast she was positive it was going to burst through her chest. She could actually feel her body moving in rhythm with its pumping, shaken by the force of that single muscle.

One of the men started walking towards her. She retreat some more, curled up tighter. He outstretched his arms in her directions, palms up. He was trying to reassure her. He looked concerned, worried. He didn't look bad. But then again, _do bad people ever look like bad people?_ She mused.

He was talking. He was asking her something. It was hard to concentrate and make out the words. She felt overwhelmed, and tired and confused. She looked around. The room was white, the sheets were white, the wardrobe was white, the table was made of glass, in a corner there was a sleek plant, it was green, a Ficus Benjamin maybe?. The light linen curtains were white. In the middle of the room, in front of her, stood a golden haired man, quite tall, slender, lean, with muscular arms showing thanks to his fitting black shirt. It was long sleeved and she thought it was weird. He was not handsome, his face resembled a skeleton with his too pointed cheekbones and too hollow cheeks. His limps were too full for a man's face and his expression was intense and hard. Beside him stood another man, about the same age as the other one, with black hair, an angular but boyish face. He too was dressed in black, a shirt that was a bit too large on him. He seemed to be more relaxed, more, more…at peace, than the other man.

She was surprised she could notice so many insignificant details in mere seconds.

She turned to look at the dark haired man beside her. He had a prominent chin, stubble. He looked builder or maybe he was just chubbier than the other two. Even though his features were stronger than those of the other two, there was something, maybe the fact that he seemed to be the older of the three, or maybe it was his voice, she didn't know, that made her feel at ease. He seemed kind.

She relaxed a bit and tried to listen on what he was saying.

"What is your name?" he asked her as if he didn't think she would understand him. Of course she did.

She was going to answer, but then something snapped. Her mind kept trying to make her mouth open, but she couldn't. It was similar to what happened when you were listening to an old, or just a ruined, CD in the player. If the surface was scratched or otherwise ruined, the player would not be able to read it, and you would forced to listen to the same word over and over again, repeatedly, never able to move on with the other part of the song. It was happening to her.

Her mind was stuck: My name is-My name is-My name is-. Unable to move one.

The surface was scratched.

She didn't know how to complete the sentence.

Her eyes widened, her heart was beating so desperately she was sure it was going to stop any moment from exhaustion. And then she spoke. She answered the question.

"Non lo so". I don't know.

They looked at her.

The man in front of her was looking at her with so much pity and compassion she felt sick. She felt panicked. Her eyes were pooling with tears, her breathing was coming in short gasps. He moved closer and sat on the bed. She was too out of it to care. She couldn't breathe.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, it's okay. You're fine. Can you understand me?" he asked, trying tentatively to touch her arm that was still close to her body, clutching the sheet.

"Of course she can, she answered the question" said someone. It was the ash blond man. His voice was nice, rough and suited for someone older than he was, but nice. It was kind of soothing.

"Shut up Niklaus. You're going to scare her", the man on the bed said quietly.

"Yes, of course. I am the thing that has there trembling, of course. Not you or the whole situation." He said sarcastically.

"Niklaus now it's not the time" the older man said. He looked at her. "Do you understand me?" he repeated.

She nodded. He mimicked her. "Okay. It is alright, you are in shock. I am sure you will remember in a couple of hours or days at most. Just relax, eat something and I am sure everything will be better" he said, talking slowly and trying to speak as clearly and distinctly as possible.

She nodded.

He outstretched his hand for her to shake "I am Elijah" he said, smiling. "Those are my brothers, Niklaus" he gestured to the man with a nice voice, "and Kol" he motioned to the black haired man, who smiled. "You don't have to be afraid. No one is going to hurt you. As soon as you feel better, you will be going home" he said reassuringly before getting up and going for the door, his brothers in tow.

Home. Home.

His hand was on the doorknob, and he barely had the time to open it halfway that she whispered, her voice raspy, her throat sore and tight, "Non so dove sia".

She saw his back going rigid, he was still for a minute. The man with the nice voice, Nicholas or something, stared at her. He looked angry. Elijah turned around, his eyes wide for a fraction of second before plastering a bright smile on his face "No problem. I am sure everything will be fine. You will remember" he said. He didn't sound so sure of it.

The got out of the room, closed the door, and Elijah leant on it, sighing loudly.

_I don't know where that is_, she had said.

He looked at Niklaus and Kol. They didn't know what to do. God, what a mess.

Niklaus had been wandering aimlessly through the house. He should be packing for the trip back to London. This was supposed to be a short and relaxing vacation, and between Kol and the girl it had been anything but.

The girl. She was…well, he didn't really know. Hell, she didn't really know! She seemed so lost, and she probably was. He felt sorry for her, but at the same time annoyed. He just wanted to relax, but of course things never could go smoothly, never the way he wanted them go. She was a problem, one he couldn't have ignored of course, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Oh well, it was not his problem anyway. He would go back to London and taking care of her would be Elijah or Kol's problem.

He should go packing. He was heading in the direction of his room, climbing up the stairs up on the second floor. After the first round of stairs he kept walking down the hall, stopping in front of the guest room. What was he doing there? He should go to his room to pack, he chastised himself, and his body turned to leave.

The next moment, his hand was on the doorknob and he was opening the door just a fraction. She was eating, rather passionately, at the rice with the chicken in it, and she was swallowing down huge gulps of water. She looked like a savage. He smiled a little, and took a moment to stare at her and recall the earlier conversation he had with his brothers.

_They were in the studio. Elijah was distress, his hands running through his hair, something Niklaus had never seen him do. Kol was speechless. Well, it was a day of firsts._

_He dove right into it, no point delaying it "So, what are you going to do Elijah?"._

_His brother stopped pacing and looked at him as if he had just smacked him across the face "I don't know", the terror was almost palpable in his voice._

_Klaus nodded. He had to take charge, it seemed. Trying to put some sense into his momentarily senseless brother. "I think we should report her to the authorities. She's from Europe, probably Italy, she seems to come from a medium class family. She seems educated, she understands English so she has studied. Surely she has a family so someone will look for her, or has already. The authorities will know something. Or we could take the matters into our own hands . We would be faster and more efficient of course, she could stay her and not having to endure the pain of questions and hours of waiting in a police station without air conditioning. We could easily track her down and deliver her to her family" he shrugged._

_Elijah nodded absentmindedly "Yes, you're right. We should probably do that"._

"_Do what?" Klaus asked._

"_We should take care of it. Is that even legal?" he asked, panicking. Maybe not reporting her was illegal, he didn't really know._

_Klaus came over to his brother, brows furrowed, irritated "Elijah, snap out of it for God's sake! What's the matter?" he said loudly. _

_Elijah stopped and looked him in the eyes "She blonde, Nik. She's young, and blonde and she was in the middle of the desert" he said._

"_I know how she is Elijah. I saw her", he spat._

"_It's just that…she reminds me of…of " his brother stammered. He sighed loudly, his shoulder moving up and down, inhaling and exhaling, and he looked at him "She reminds me of Rebekah, Nik" he said lowly. He looked away "She was supposed to be here, if it had not been for a problem with a school project she would have been. You know she loves going around in the desert, just like you. That could have been her. I don't know…I just keep thinking: what if it was Rebecca? What if that was my sister, scared and alone? Sometimes we forget how evil the world can be" he said._

"_You never forget Elijah. You have me and Kol with bodyguards, and Rebekah is never alone. Here or back home. This is nonsense" he said. His brother was being irrational. That could never happen to Rebekah._

"_Someone beat her. Cut her. Didn't that make you think of…" Kol said from his chair, calmly, staring off into space. "Of… you know, her?" he finished._

"_Yes" the other two said. Yes of course. That was the reason they had charities supporting women from abuse, providing shelter and legal assistance. That was the reason they were so overprotective with their sister. That was the reason the cuts and bruises on the girl's body, the way her eyes moved frantically, the way her body tried to protect itself were painfully familiar for them._

_Elijah coughed, collecting himself. In a moment he was back to being the calm and confident man he always was, sure of himself in every situation, knowing exactly what to do and when to do it._

"_It's decided then. We will run a recognition program, we'll need a photo, and we will scan all authorities databases for reports about a missing blonde girl of approximately 25 years. We'll start with Italy of course since she mainly speaks Italian, and that's not a language many people talk unless they live there or have a close relative teaching them. There will be something. There has to be. We can't take care of her indefinitely". Elijah said, back to his rational and practical self._

"_I'll make sure that's the first thing that will be accomplished once I go back to London" Niklaus reassured him._

_Elijah nodded, "Speaking of which, you should start packing" he said._

_Niklaus hated to be told what to do, but, recognizing his brother was right, and knowing it was his way to regain some sort of control, he let it go, much to Kol's surprise and slipped out of the room._

And now, here he was. Suddenly, her head shot up and she was looking right at him, her blue eyes wide, but less scared than before. That pleased him.

She didn't smile and he didn't expect her to.

"Can I come in?" he asked in Italian.

She nodded, looking like a frightened deer. She reminded him of Bambi.

He walked into the room, but kept his distance. She looked better, more alive, there was an energy around her. She was recovering.

"So how are you?" he asked. Could he be more stupid? What kind of question was that? _Oh just peachy thanks for asking_, he could picture her mocking him.

"Uhm" she looked at him, and he knew she was thinking that the question was dumb. It was. "I don't know actually" she swallowed loudly, her throat still felt constricted and arid. She gulped down more water, trying to keep some composure in doing it.

He nodded "That's understandable", he said taking a step closer without really noticing it. She looked at his legs. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" he quickly apologized, stepping back looking at his feet, as if to scold them.

She just looked at him. She was glad he took a step back. She felt better having some space for herself.

"So, you're from Italy?" he asked, trying to gain some useful information about her.

"I guess" she said, looking out the window.

He cocked his head "You guess? You don't remember?" he asked.

She shook her head, biting her lower lip.

"I see" he pondered. Maybe she would remember something more personal "How old are you?"

A tear fell from her eye "I don't know" she whispered, and it sounded so hopeless and desperate his heart clenched.

"Is there anything you remember that could be useful? Anything at all. Your name, any name, an address, a building, a song…" he listed. Anything could help them locating where she was from.

"I'm sorry" she was crying now, silently, shaking. "I'm so sorry. I don't know", he could barely hear her voice, it was so thin and feeble.

He came closer, his arm outstretched. He wanted to touch her, hug her, do something to soothe her. Hugs always worked with Rebekah. But she wasn't his sister, so he thought better of it and stopped where he was. She was looking at her hands in her laps, her shoulders shaking, she wasn't paying attention to him.

"Don't be" he attempted a smile, but was sure it came out more like a grimace "It's not a problem at all. And it's not your fault". He assured her. It wasn't true. She was a problem. She was a stranger, and she was delicate. He had to be careful about what he did, what he said and how he said it. He had to make the effort of fishing in his memory for those stupid Italian lessons._ Thanks again mom_, he thought for the first time without malice or sarcasm. Anyway, being around her, hell just having her in a room in his house had him uneasy. Uncomfortable and tense in his own home. The tension was thick. And she was so small, and scared, it made him feel things. Pity, compassion, doubt, uncertainty. And feeling was exhausting. It was such a waste of energy, trying to keep all those emotions under control, not being able to behave as he pleased, not being free.

But then again, he couldn't say that to her. And the human, rational part of him knew he was being a selfish, childish cold hearted bastard. But that was something he had come to terms to and accepted a long time ago.

And it was true. It was not her fault. Or was it? Oh well, like he said, not his problem.

She smiled a small smile at him "Thanks" she said, her voice stronger.

He looked around, suddenly nervous. He needed to pack.

"Well, I hope you enjoy the food. Feel free to ask for more. If you want to shower this door leads to the toilet" he said, opening a white door at the far end of the room, near the window "You can take a bath too, whatever you prefer" he added, studying the room. Had it always been so white? He never noticed. "And if you wish for clothes just ask one of the maids or Elijah and they would make sure you have them" he finished. He was standing at the foot of her, well his, bed, exactly in the same spot where he was the first time she saw him. Had it really only been some hours?

She tilted her head, looking with tiniest bit of curiosity "Are you going somewhere?"

"Why do you ask?", that came out more quickly and more harshly than he intended.

She shook her head, not taken aback, "It's just that you sound like a parent going away, making sure the kids follow the rules and don't do anything stupid" she said.

"Did your parents use to do that with you?" he asked.

Her smile disappeared, "I don't know" she said, "I hope so".

_Well, it was worth a try_, he thought.

"Well, have a good day" he bowed and went for the door.

"Thanks, you too. And good…trip" she said, not really sure where he was going and what he was going to do, so unsure what to wish him for. She smiled.

"Thanks" he smiled back.

He went toward the stairs, his mind set on packing. He took the first step and turned around, heading back to the ground floor and toward the dromedaries stables. _Just a quick ride before packing_, he told himself.

He came back at midnight, and collapsed on his bed as soon as he entered his room.

He didn't pack.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the wait. I'm a med student, so please be patient with me. Sorry for any mistake, this is not beta-ed. This chapter is a filler, but the Klaroline is coming! Thanks to those who reviewed and followed.**

* * *

Another dawn, another day.

Life was weird for her. Or maybe it wasn't. She couldn't recall how life was before, so she couldn't actually know if the way she was feeling was different than what she usually felt. Everything was strange and foreign. She felt lost, but excited at the same time. And that worried her, because she was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to feel excited.

Her room was nice. Comforting. It was a bit anonymous, but that peculiarity was actually the only thing that fit with her. She was anonymous. She was no one.

She thought of the three men she saw the day before. They seemed friendly and she felt comfortable with them. She half expected them to pop up into her room, she anticipated it. She looked around. She was alone.

Finally alone. Calm and peace. All by herself, alone with her thoughts. There was so much to think about, so many unanswered questions, so much she wanted to know, so much she didn't know and probably will never know. Where was she? How did she get there? Who were those men and what was her connection with them? They clearly weren't friends nor family, so how came she was in their home? Who was she? Who did she want to be? What was she going to do with her life? So many deep, hard and significant questions, and so much time to think about them.

She looked out the window. The sun was shining so bright, part of her still thought it unnatural, scorching the dunes, its morning rays lashing at the red sand, the ever changing downs strained under its incessant suffocating warmth. She sighed. Ah, the peacefulness, the silence of it all. The perfect way she could hear her thoughts as if she was talking out loud…

She got up and almost ran to the door. She threw it open and found herself walking briskly down the hall aimlessly. The walls were painted a deep gray, the floor was covered in a blood red carpet, soft and warm against her bare feet, muffling the noise of her walking, the doors were white, a stark contrast to the charcoal of the walls and the burgundy of the floor, but it all seemed to fit harmoniously together. On the walls were hanging some medium sized paintings and some black and white pictures, neither portraying people, but beautiful, impersonal landscapes. But then, maybe they liked to keep the more personal and familial ones in their bedrooms, or somewhere not so exposed, she mused. At the end of the hall there was a large window, without curtains, from which she could see the garden below her. She didn't know there was a garden. It was probably artificial, given their environment, but it was still magnificent, lush and so green, with palms and flowers, adorned by four massive white fountains placed symmetrically through the garden, spilling crystalline water incessantly. It was luxuriant.

She noticed Niklaus walking through the green grass, in the shadows of the thick plants that run along what she imagined to be the borders of the garden, although she wasn't really sure. He was intent, focused almost, dressed in the same dark jeans her wore the day before and wearing a white V-neck shirt. Wasn't it too hot to wear long sleeves? She mused. He didn't even appear to be sweating. He was walking incredibly slowly, a hand reaching out from his side to brush the trunks of the plants, caressing them, his eyes far away, is face serious, almost murderous, oblivious to the antithesis he was creating with the happy, flourishing garden he was in.

Maybe he felt he was being watched, his animalistic part, his ancestral instincts kicking in, but is eyes ran to her, his head turning up quickly but with purpose, as if he knew exactly where to watch, were to stop, to her direction, and he stared at her.

He was not that handsome. His ears were sticking out a bit, his nose was little and feminine, as his lips, so incredibly full and pink, his cheekbones were so high and jutted out you could clearly make out his skull. His eyes were hooded, their shape making his gaze seem sad. He wasn't what most people would probably call attractive by standard canons.

But she couldn't look away. His eyes were simply magnetic. She simply stared into them, even from a distance, and she focused on him, completely unaware of anything else but his face. There was no more garden, no more sun, no more warmth, no more noises. She was in a sort of trance, and for the first time in what she could only guess was a long time, she felt relaxed. Looking at him was relaxing. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, every single muscle of her body relaxing, melting. Then, something caught his attention, probably someone calling him, and he looked away and walked out of her sight.

She resumed her wandering in the house. House…palace was the only word that could describe the building she was staying in at the moment. It was all white marble and luxurious carpets, dark wooden furniture and large windows. They must have been billionaires, if they were the owners of the house, as she suspected. But then again, she didn't really know anything about them, not even their last name. But then again, she didn't even know hers so…

Just when sadness and dejection were about to wash over her, she heard music, faint but distinct, coming from upstairs. She reached the stair and walked up the flight, standing in the middle of another hallway, this one painted in soft beiges and earth tones, the doors a warm wood. She followed the sound, wondering how high the volume must be for it to be heard all the way downstairs. She stopped in front of a large, massive wooden door. She pondered knocking, but then decided it would have been useless since no one would have heard it above the music. She grasped the gold colored knob (she really wished for it to be just the color of the precious metal and not actual gold), turned it and opened the door. Thankfully it wasn't a bedroom, but seemingly a study. It was very dark inside, despite it being the middle of a sunny day, thanks to the closed curtains, she noticed. Everything was made of mahogany, the carpets were burgundy with gold designs embroiled and the curtains were a rich brown. It looked very…ancient. Yes, ancient was exactly how it looked. The burning fire crackling in the fireplace in front of her drew her attention (Seriously? A fireplace in the middle of the freaking desert?) and she took in the library stacked with books at her left, and the two large empty deep green velvet armchairs and the long black leather sofa beside them. The music was coming from her right, from one of (she supposed) the most technological and expensive stereo she had ever seen.

She entered the room and approached the stereo, staring at the spinning CD and wondering how it was possible for her eardrums to still be intact at that boisterous volume. Must have been the carpets or the curtains or maybe the room was planned so to have the best acoustic.

"May I help you?" came a voice out of nowhere, just as the music stopped abruptly. She gasped, her hand went to her chest and she felt the adrenaline rush through her limbs. Okay, so maybe the room wasn't as empty as she thought.

She looked at the dark haired man, nestled in the armchair, a glass of some amber liquid in his right hand amd a controller in his left one, that was staring at her pensively, his thoughts and emotions unintelligible behind that static mask.

"Elijah, right?" she asked tentatively.

"Right" he responded in the same foreign language she used, "Is there anything you need?".

She shook her head, a tight smile on her face "Oh no, thanks. I just heard the music and was curios. Sorry, you wanted to be alone and I just, sort of, barged in" she motioned with her hands the opening of a door, and chuckled awkwardly. He kept looking at her enigmatically. _God, why was he looking at her like that?_

As if reading her thoughts ( or maybe he just picked up on her obvious discomfort), her gave her a tiny smile, "You didn't barge in. I probably wouldn't have heard you knocking. In fact" he added, sighing "I didn't heard you at all. Had I not seen you, I would have never guessed we were sharing a room".

_Wow, what a wonderful voice. So calm, so suave…it could lull you to sleep. And that accent… _she thought. It was weird how just a sound, in this case the sound of his voice, could relax her and put her at ease, even if not completely. She didn't think someone could truly feel at ease around someone as authoritative and collected as Elijah.

"The first prelude and fugue of the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier" he said after a brief pause.

"What?" she furrowed her brows, confused by what he had just said.

"That's the music I was listening to. The Prelude and Fugue in C Major, by Johann Sebastian Bach" he said the last part of the name pronouncing the -ch aspirate, true to the original and correct German pronounce, "Although many know it as the Ave Maria, since Charles Gounod used it as a setting to that melody", he concluded.

"Wow", was the only (lame, by the way) thing she managed to say._ Yes, it would be impossible to feel at ease around him._ "Well, it's very nice", _Oh God lamer and lamer._

He chuckled, amused by her choice of words "Yes, very nice indeed", he agreed. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" he asked, cocking his head to the side, his eyes never leaving her.

"Uhm, no thanks" she said, standing there. She probably should leave, but it felt almost rude to just leave him there. Although he was there, alone, when she entered, so maybe he was just waiting to be able to be alone yet again and wouldn't consider it rude if she just excused herself and left the room. But it kind of seemed to send the message "I feel home, this is my place and I come and go as I please", and maybe it was stupid to think that but- "Would you like a drink?" he asked, interrupting her irrational flow of thoughts. A much appreciated interruption.

"Yes, thank you", she sighed, smiling.

He walked toward what must have been the bar, and took out a crystal glass, his eyes gliding over the various bottles "What would you like?" he asked, out of instinct.

_I wish I knew, _she thought, but instead said "Whatever you decide it's fine for me", and she sat on the armchair, while he sat on the one he was previously occupying, handing her the drink. She took it with a smile and sipped it. And almost chocked. It burnt. And it smelled nice, but it didn't taste good. It was bitter. Bleah. She made a face, and it didn't escape Elijah, who smirked. "What is it?" she asked, still trying not to cough.

"Whiskey" he simply replied, smirk in place. How embarrassing, she should appreciate what he had offered and not be a baby about it and making faces. "One of the finest actually. But, as it seems, you are not a whiskey girl" he decided. Leave it to her to have the opportunity to taste something rare and good and not be able to recognize and appreciate its quality. How embarrassing, again.

"Yeah, it seems so. Sorry" she said offering a small smile as an apology, putting the still quite full glass on the coffee table in front of them.

"Do not be. De gustibus non disputandum est, after all".

She didn't have to voice her confusion this time, her expression was telling enough, "It's latin. It means: you cannot judge other people's tastes. Not just about food or drinks, Horace was referring to opinions and beliefs too" he explained.

"Are you a teacher or something?" she asked, genuinely curios.

He let out a small laugh "No, no, nothing of the sort. I work for the family business" he said.

"What kind of business?", she wanted to get to know those people who were providing for her and had been so kind to her.

"Telecommunications. Expression Inc. is the name of the corporation. Our father founded it and we all work there. We deal with mobile phones, Gps, we develop software… things like that".

She nodded, not really grasping the meaning of his words "Things like that..".

He looked at her, observing "We are using our software to search through databases for you. We often work for governments-"

"Governments?" she asked, confused by the plural.

"Yes, governments" he stated and the continued "So we have some connections and access to some of thei databases. We think we'll be quicker than local authorities. It could take months before your case is taken care of and they actively start searching for you with the proper resources".

She nodded, not sure what to make of it. Should she be worried they were not going through authorities? Should she feel grateful? Relieved? She hadn't really thought much about what to actually do in order to gain some answers, the thought of going to the police never once crossing her mind. Elijah's speech, however, seemed logical and made sense. It sounded like a good course of action, so she didn't complain. Even if she did, what would she complain about? And what would her alternative be? She didn't have an alternative. May as well go with the flow.

"Thank you Elijah." she said, her voice a whisper, small and full of emotions that she couldn't decipher. "I know I am a problem, and I am so sorry to bother you and your family. You are being so kind to me, providing for me, spending I don't even want to know how many money on me, and you don't have to. But you're doing it anyway. And I know that's not a common behavior , so" she looked him square in the eyes, nailing him down on the spot "thank you".

"You're welcome" he replied.

She stood up, taking her leave, and just when she was about to close the door behind her she sadi "You are not a bother".

She smiled.

* * *

_So, maybe I could tear out his liver first…no, no, no you don't live without a liver, he would die too soon and not live enough to suffer properly from torture. But (there's always a but) if he's dead, he can't talk and if he can't talk there's silence. Ooooh silence, I miss you my dear. Yes, screw torture and revenge, who cares about that stuff anyway. Silence is the top priority. So, back to business: I tear out his liver and then I could rip out his heart…maybe that's too messy. And then he would shout. No, no, no too much unnecessary noise. Ah! The throat. Yes, that would do, a simple and clean cut to the throat. No more functioning vocal cords… the definition of heaven. _

Klaus was past the point of feeling guilty for his murdering thoughts. After spending most of you childhood and, unfortunately, your adult life, with Kol, you either find a way to deal with his constant blabbering, or you act on the only two options available: kill him, or kill yourself.

Hence the murdering thoughts, which, part of him says longingly, will stay just that, thoughts.

Kol has interrupted his walk in the garden. Klaus has never been an outdoors lover, but the garden has the power of calming him and reconcile him with the world and himself (not an easy task) that excels and surpass every therapy and psychologist he had ever paid. And he paid them lots of money, by the way. And that morning he needed it. He didn't sleep well, tossing and turning in his bed the whole night, turning off his phone so to avoid acknowledging all the text messages and missed calls from Hayley and Bekah and probably his mother. He felt restless. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. And he didn't want to. So he settled with walking through the garden and, as it always did, helped him greatly. The help was only enhanced when he looked up to the house and found himself staring at her. The girl. She wasn't really his type, not at all. But she was obviously pretty, and there was something about her that moved him. He felt an ache in his chest when he looked at her.

Pity, it must be pity. Compassion at most (though he wasn't really sure, he might have to look the meaning up in the dictionary just to be sure he got the right adjective to describe what he felt). Yes, it has to be that. He doesn't even know her. And she's so lost and scared and weak. And he likes strong and independent women. So yes, it must be the savior complex or something like that. If such thing as the savior complex exists. Oh, psychiatrist have a complex for almost everything. There must be a savior complex somewhere, he's sure of it.

And just as he was starting to feel completely at peace and perfectly balanced with the world…Kol called him. And he was fool enough to answer that call.

He spent the next three hours hearing him going on and one about…well, he didn't know. After the complaint about dromedaries, and the weather, and briefing him of his social life back home, he just shut him off and began entertain himself with murdering scenarios. Until now, however.

"Do you think we should name her?" Kol asked as the went in one of the salons.

"Who?" Klaus' interest was piqued, because _of course _he knew who Kol was referring to.

"The girl obviously Nik!" he exclaimed exasperated, huffing loudly "I mean, it's a necessity to name objects and people so to be able to address them and eventually interact. What are we going to ask her in the morning? 'Good morning, how are you feeling today Girl?' " he used a different tone , deeper than his usual, boyish one, though Klaus didn't understand who he was trying to impress "No, I don't think so brother!" he said with finality. And then he stalked off up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Klaus asked behind him, clearly annoyed with his younger brother.

"Asking her her name" he answered as if it was obvious, not turning back to look at Klaus.

"And what exactly do you expect to hear, eh?" Klaus inquired self-righteously, smirking "She doesn't remember. Or do you suffer too from memory loss now?" he chuckled mockingly.

"No dear brother, my memory is as good as an elephant's, however" he turned to look at him, stopping in front of her door "we could always ask her how she wish to be addressed at. It is only polite" he smiled innocently. _Smart ass_, Klaus thought.

"I still don't get with it has to be now. You are going to bother her. Leave her be".

Kol's eyebrows arched slowly but visibly, his forehead creasing "Well, well aren't you the perfect gentleman? Why are you suddenly so thoughtful and caring toward someone who is not yourself Nik?".

Klaus' face became serious, his eyes glaring deadly at his brother "It is only polite" he threw his words back at him, "Don't see or read too much into it Kol. You are just going to embarrass yourself with your wrong assumptions. As you always do, might I add."

"Ouch, so harsh. That's more like you Nik. You scared me for a moment there, behaving like a normal human being. Almost. Don't do that again" he smirked, "Anyway, I'm sure I'm not bothering her, it's not as if she has that much to do" and he knocked on the white door.

They waited a few seconds. Kol knocked again. No noise came from the other side of the door. Before Kol could knock a third time Klaus stopped him with his exasperated words "It is quite obvious she's not in there. Knocking won't make her magically appear" and he turned to leave.

Just as he was taking the stairs to the main floor, he heard a thudding sound and looked up to see the source. As it was, the source were the feet of a very blonde and very blue eyed girl, coming down from the upper level of the house. She stopped when she spotted him, looking startled.

"Oh" she started "Uhm, hi" she waved her hand.

"Hello", he replied.

"How are you?" she asked while her eyes moved everywhere, carefully avoiding his figure.

"I'm fine thank you" he said, bowing slightly._ Bowing? Really?_ He was starting to wonder if there was something seriously wrong in him. Like a brain tumor, or an alien taking residence in his body… "What about you?" he inquired.

"Good, thank you…Niklaus, right?" she asked tentatively, squinting her eyes, as if his name was written on his face and she had problems reading it.

He gave her a small smile "Yes, that's right". Just as he was about to ask her what he had in mind, he stopped. It was a reflex, but his instinct had been to ask her for her name. It was the normal thing to do in a social environment, but he remembered the singularity of this situation, of this girl._ Damn Kol ,_he hated when his brother was right.

"Oh hello sunshine", as if summoned, Kol appeared behind Klaus, smiling brightly at the girl standing on the steps above them.

"Hello!" she waved again, smiling easily.

"I was just looking for you, you know? I have a matter of the utmost importance to discuss with you" he told her.

She furrowed her brows and looked at Niklaus "Oh, really? What is it?" she asked, just as Kol grabbed her hand "Thinking about it" he added, not paying her attentions and dragging her across the hallway.

"First, we need to find Elijah" he announced, still dragging her like a baby.

"Actually" she said, trying to keep up with him (_Does he have to run? It's not a marathon_) "he's upstairs" she indicated with her finger. Kol stopped and turned around, following with his eyes where she was pointing, looking at the ceiling, and started dragging her back where they came from, almost running straight into Klaus who had trailed silently behind them.

After briskly walking up the stairs (more like jogging) and down the hallway, Kol barged in what was the study she had left Elijah in. he surely enough was seated in the chair he was on before, sipping his whiskey. When he saw their little group he sighed, visibly annoyed by the interruption. "Hello brother. Respectful as always I see" he commented.

"Oh come on Elijah! What it is today that has you and Nik so concerned with manners? You're ancient" Kol said, somewhat annoyed. "Anyway, I was here to discuss a very important matter with you" he started, sitting down on the large sofa, dragging her along with him, while Klaus took a seat on the armchair, looking bored.

"And what would that be?" Elijah asked tiredly, rolling his eyes. She didn't knew him, at all, but she was pretty sure that it wasn't common for Elijah to roll his eyes. It look wrong on him, it was not something someone as dignified as him would do, like hearing a nun curse. It was just…wrong.

"We need to name her", Kol stated simply.

She whipped her head to the side, looking at him with wide eyes "What?!" she screeched.

Kol looked at her, calm and comfortable as if discussing the weather "Sunshine, we need to find you a name. It is a necessity. Don't you want a name?" he asked her as if talking to a child.

"Well, yes, I mean, I suppose I sho-" she stammered, trying to express her thoughts.

Of course it was the logical thing to do. And of course it was the most practical thing to do. There was a reason the human genre has named things, plants, animals and people over the history. It is a natural inclination to name things. But she didn't knew her name. she wanted desperately a name, but she wanted her name, not just a name. She wanted her name, a name that fitted her and that was hers, that was _her. _But thanks to her amnesia she couldn't have her name. So what? Picking a name casually (or choosing one) and then, hopefully, some day (soon, she prayed) discover her real one, or have no name at all, and feel even more of an outcast and lost than she already felt? Maybe a name was the starting point to gather back some appearance of normality.

"Exactly sunshine. So, come on!" he got up and sauntered to the library, looking over some books for a minute, before taking one and giving it to her "Pick one!" he told her. It was a book where there were all the various names and their meanings, the kind of books that expecting parents bought to decide the name of their newborn.

She stared at it, dumfounded. "Uhm…alright. Thanks".

"I know they're not Italian but English of course, but still better than nothing right?" he said more gently.

She shrugged, "I supposed" and smiled. Then an idea came to her mind "Do you want to pick it with me?" she asked, looking at the three of them "I mean since you found me and took me in with you, like a lost puppy…kind of. Besides I really wouldn't know what to choose, you could help me" she proposed brightly. Actually she rather liked the idea of doing this with someone. Of course it shouldn't have sounded appealing. A name is something so intimate. Your parents are the ones supposed to name you, not some strangers, but she found out she didn't mind at all. It actually gave her the illusion of family and being part of something.

"Wouldn't you want to choose it yourself?" Elijah asked quietly, looking curiously at her.

She shook her head "No really. And then you probably know more about it than I do, so really it's not a problem".

He nodded "Okay then. What do you say, Niklaus?" he asked to his sulking brother, who sat perched on the armchair as if it was a throne, still as a statue.

"I personally think it's ridiculous. But do as you wish" he said, gesturing with his hand. She noticed than he had a light lisp. And she noticed that she like that. It made his voice all the more enchanting. She also noticed that he never once looked at her, and that saddened her.

"Okay! Let's get started then" Kol said, as Elijah came to sit next to her.

Hours passed, and with them, many names. Kol told her that the most common names in the U.S. were Sophia (_absolutely not!_ She exclaimed) and Emma, along with Madison, Abigail and Emily (_No_,_ no_ and _no_, she didn't want a name that three quarter of the female population sported, no matter how noble the meaning of it was). Elijah went to Biblical names, such as Esther (_Really 'Lijah? Mom's name? You can't name her after her, she's not your daughter!_, Kol interjected), Ruth (_I doubt she's Jew brother, and really, it sounds the name of an old cat lady,_ Kol said) and Hannah (Not bad, she would consider it, she said before Kol could said anything about that name, reminding him that it was her choice after all). Katherine and Elizabeth sounded appealing, especially Elizabeth, both noble and traditional, and she wrote down on the list of the possible names Elizabeth. Yes, Elizabeth was nice, and it had many possible meanings: 'God is perfection" and "God is fortune". She went through improbable names, most of them from a Tv show Kol very much enjoyed (_Oh don't you like Khaleesi? Or maybe Cersei? You would be a wonderful Khaleesi sunshine!_, Kol said excitedly. Klaus got up from his chair and smacked him on the head, silently sitting down), and other such ad London, Amani, Sephora (the smacking this time was Elijah's doing) and Portia (_Why not Ophelia or Desdemona, Kol?_ Niklaus muttered), she had a few choices.

Elizabeth, Hannah (It means 'gracious') and Scarlett (_Oh aren't you the perfect little Belle, sunshine?_ Kol cooed mockingly) were her favorite ones. But still…something was off. She huffed and was turning absentmindedly the pages of the book quickly, trying to either find something better or to make a decision, when she stumbled upon a name that she had skipped before because Kol had brushed it off has a 'granny name': Caroline. She brought the book closer to her and read aloud " From the masculine name Carolus which is Latin for Charles (English). Caroline generally means 'free woman' or 'freeholder' but can also mean 'song of happiness or joy' from a French origin". Free woman…she liked that. She smiled to herself. Yep, she definitely liked it. It was a strong, tough name, and something she aspired to be. And she felt as if it was hers. It was weird feeling, she could not really explain it.

"Oh no sunshine" Kol grimaced "Caroline? That's not hot at all!" he countered.

"Because Sephora is so sexy and irresistible, isn't it?" she replied, brow arched.

"Well, at least it is linked with the idea of beauty" he said arrogantly, as if he was explaining the most philosophical notion ever expressed by man.

Her eyebrow was still arched. He huffed "Okay, okay" he said defeated.

"What do you think?" she asked Elijah.

He shrugged, "Whatever you wish. I like that it means 'free woman'. It suits you".

"What about you Niklaus?" she asked looking at him, still sitting there even if it was barely noticeable as he had kept silent for most of the time. He just nodded.

Kol clapped his hands "So it's decided!" he jumped up, jogging to the door "Let's go eat something Caroline! I'm famished" he winked at her and then he was gone. She chuckled as Elijah got up and followed his brother, but not before shaking her hand "Nice to meet you Caroline" he said, smiling at her. She couldn't help but smile back, "Nice to meet you too". And then she was alone with Niklaus. She got up from the couch and went to put the book back where she saw Kol taking it, and then heading to the door. She was hungry. She turned and looked at Niklaus, who hadn't moved an inch. _How does he manage to be so still?_ "Aren't you coming?" she asked.

He looked at her , "I'm not that much hungry yet. I'll probably eat later" he said.

She nodded and then asked a completely silly and senseless question, because _really, who cares? _" Do you like it?" she asked, wriggling her hands.

"Yes." He said simply. Not much of a talker.

She nodded and turned the knob when he said, in that accented velvety voice that made her feel warmth spreading all over her "Song of happiness and joy" he looked deep in thought, and then his eyes were on her "I think it suits you" he mimicked his brother's words.

She smiled "Thanks".

He gave her a tight lipped smile "Enjoy your dinner, Caroline" he said, and averted his eyes, looking once again focus on something that she couldn't see.

_God, the way he said her name…_

Yes, she had definitely picked just the perfect name.

* * *

** Wow. Longest chapter ever! I hope I didn't offend anyone with the name thing (even though I have bad history with Sophias...but still). I think she would feel a conncetion with the name Elizabeth since it was her mother's name.**

**I know...it was kind of boring, but I think necessary.**

**And I know...her picking the name Caroline is kind of forced, but I can't spend the rest of this story calling her another name, it would be confusing and I would certainly slip at some point so...bear with me.**

**Reviews make me happy!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the late update. Life was CRAZY. I'm a bit saddened by the numbers of reviews, but I love the ones I got. Thanks to those who reviewed, favorited and followed.**

**Hope you like it! Please remember English is not my first language and this was unbeta-ed.**

* * *

Dinner was quiet and uneventful, spent in silence or listening to Kol rambling and mocking Elijah.

Klaus didn't show up.

After they had eaten their meal, Kol went outside, talking on the phone and Elijah approached Caroline, "May I speak with you for a moment Caroline?" he asked, ever the gentleman. She smiled upon heating her name, every single time overcome by a strange giddiness. "Sure" she nodded.

They walked into the salon and seated on one of the big white sofas, "The doctor is coming tomorrow to see you. He needs to take a sample of your blood to check for any anomaly, just routine exams" he assured her "And then, if you want to of course, he can visit you" he paused, looking at her straight in the eyes, his face deadly serious, "As in gynecological examination" ,he went on, "To see if you were raped or abused".

"Oh". She knew it was coming, and it was the right thing to do. She needed to know if she had any diseases, which was her blood type, if she had any allergies and things like that. But still…the idea of someone telling her she had been raped, even if she wouldn't remember it, made her stomach turn and her chest constrict.

He touched her shoulder, "I understand this is hard and you have to know that, even if it would be best for you, you don't have to do this. He can just take your blood and check you up and that would be it." He squeezed her shoulder, trying to show his support.

She nodded, "No it's okay. I need to know. I want to know." She said strongly. He nodded.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No thanks, I think I'll just go to bed".

They both stood up, "As you wish, I'll go catch up with some work", and then they went up the stairs together, Caroline stopping at the first floor and going to her bedroom.

It was midnight, and she was still wide awake. God, she was nervous. She shouldn't be, there was nothing to be nervous about. Okay, there was a lot to be nervous about, but she couldn't avoid it or do anything else other than wait for tomorrow (well, today), she couldn't actually do anything concrete so she should just relax and sleep. Easier said than done. She kept tossing and turning, sweating and breathing hard. She sat up in bed, put on a robe, more out of politeness than necessity as it was incredibly hot even if it was nighttime, and went in the hallway. Maybe a book would relax her? She walked toward the stairs to the upper level, the hallway was dark, the only lighting provided by the moon rays coming from the window at the her back, at the end of the hall, and from…a door? She halted in her steps, and squinted her eyes. Yes, there was a light coming from under a door at the opposite side of the hall. She walked up to it and stopped in front of the closed door. There were noises coming from the other side. She raised her hand, ready to knock. Maybe she shouldn't. Wouldn't want to bother whoever was in there. But then again, they were awake, right? There were noises and light coming from the inside. She knocked.

"Come in" said a voice, a very deep, velvety and absurdly sexy voice.

She opened the door, and there he was, sitting on the bed, arms crossed (his black Henley clutching to his biceps and chest), legs crossed, staring at the tv, the only source of light in the otherwise dark room.

He slowly looked at her, and when his eyes rested on her figure they widened almost comically and he shot up at alarming speed, making her jump.

"Oh, it's you", he said, fully standing now, still looking at her like a deer caught in the headlights, "I thought it was one of my brothers…sorry". Was his voice breathy? It certainly sounded like it.

She smiled, feeling out of place. Niklaus was the one she had less interaction with during the two days she had stayed there. He was always by himself, so silent and reserved, his demeanor telling everyone he wanted to be left alone. He kind of scared her a little. Yet, his obvious confidence, his piercing eyes and his smooth voice attracted her to him like a piece of metal to a magnet. He seemed so strong and sure of himself, and for someone that felt as lost and confused as Caroline felt, those were alluring qualities. "What for? I am the one who's sorry. You're busy" she looked at the tv screen "I didn't want to bother you. I just saw a light and was curious".

His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly "Why are you up so late?" he inquired, but then quickly added "I mean, how come you're not sleeping? Is something the matter?", his hands went into the pockets of his jeans.

"Nothing", she shrugged ,"Well…it is quite hot actually", she chuckled and noticed that her robe had fallen open, revealing her pajamas' shorts and tank top. Luckily they were loose enough to not reveal her figure.

"Oh really?" he said "Is the air conditioning in your room broken?" he asked.

_Oh, right!_ She had totally forgotten about it._ What a dumbass_. "Uhm, no, no, it's just that…" _Think of something, think of something!_ "It gives me headache". _Seriously?_ That was the best she could come up with? Definitely not going to be an actress, or a criminal, or a poker player… or a lawyer. That was for sure.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. It is quite the inconvenience." he said.

"How can you not be sweating dressed with long sleeves and total black?" she asked smiling and pointing to his attire, registering than although the late hour, he still wasn't dressed for the night.

He smirked, and she noticed a dimple. Were dimples supposed to look this cute and adorable and hot at the same time on a grown man? "Well, what can I say? I have the greatest hypothalamus, my thermoregulation system is practically flawless". She heard his lisp again, and was that supposed to sound hot and alluring?

She should probably go. She knew that. She shouldn't impose. But she felt so lonely, and nervous and he looked so…safe. And he was awake, so it was convenient and it was not as if she was the one keeping him up.

He broke the silence, " Since we both can't seem to sleep, do you want to watch some tv with me?" he gestured to the screen.

"Yes thank you", she agreed instantly, climbing on the bed. Was it too much? Oh well, it wasn't as if there was somewhere else to sit on. Maybe the floor…

He settled next to her, careful to avoid any contact. "So what are you watching?" she asked.

"Savages, by Oliver Stone" he answered.

"What is it about?" she asked, turning to look at his profile. His nose was slightly feminine, oddly delicate for a man, but it suited him and actually looked manly on his face.

"I put it on just twenty minutes ago" he told her, looking at the screen and pausing using a controller she hadn't noticed before. "Anyway it talks about those two boys who grow marijuana and sell it, both involved in a threesome with a girl, and-"

"What?" she interrupted him. "What do you mean? Like…they're both in love and in a relationship with the same girl?", he nodded, "Knowingly? I mean, are they both aware that the other is sleeping with her and they're fine with it?", she was astonished.

"Yes, they are aware and they don't mind. They're more than best friends, it's as if they're brothers. They don't mind sharing", he explained.

"So you would be okay with sharing the woman you love with one of your brothers?" she asked provocatively.

He shrugged ,"I did once".

He eyes almost fell out of her sockets and he smirked. "You did?" she asked.

"Yes. Well I actually wasn't aware there was any sharing going on until much later, and I broke things off after finding out, but it wasn't so heartbreaking and I didn't resent my brother as much as I thought I would." He elaborated.

"Ah. Okay" she said. She wanted to know which brother he was talking about. Her mind started imagining a thousand different scenarios, picturing either Kol or Elijah kissing and pleasuring (she didn't imagine too vividly, it was all very classy and refined, mind you) a faceless woman. Oh she wanted, no needed, to know! But she knew that would be crossing a line. So, making a huge effort, she kept her mouth shut.

"So, as I was saying" he resumed "at one point one of the most powerful Mexican drug cartel comes in the picture and wants to take over their business, but they refuse and so…" he went on explaining the first twenty minutes of the movie, telling her which actor played which character and then resumed watching it. The movie was good, but maybe a tad too violent for her. She had to cover her eyes during some scenes, but other than that it was interesting and captivating.

"So", he spoke again after it was over, "Did you like it?" he asked her, looking at her.

"Yes. It was definitely intense", she said with a laugh, "But I liked it. And it was one of the most romantic things ever. But I don't remember other movies so maybe my opinion is not really the best or most accurate…I don't know, it shouldn't be taken into account", she waved her hand dismissively as if to brush off said opinion.

He cocked his head, his faced lightened just by the light coming from the screen "Why shouldn't it be taken into account?"

"Because well…I have nothing to compare it to, so, you know it's not really objective or consistent" she stammered, while he stared at her intensely.

"I don't think it has anything to do with that. Your opinion isn't any less valid than anyone else's just because you can't compare this movie to others. Your opinion is yours, and just because of that is worth considering. Never forget that" he told her decisively.

"Yes, sir!" she said mockingly and smiled.

He smiled too ,"I didn't mean to sound so despotic, even though my siblings often blame of being a tyrant. Excuse my rudeness, Caroline", he apologized teasingly, bowing slightly his head.

"Yeah, you are a bit despotic I suppose, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. And yes, you are excused".

"So," he continued "What were you saying about the movie?".

She pondered her answer for a moment, sorting her thoughts and emotions and then answered "I like it. As I was saying, it's definitely intense, and dark. There's a lot of action, and I love that the boss of the Mexican cartel is a woman. And she's smart and level headed, a caring mother and a ruthless executioner at the same time. And I think it was very romantic too".

He furrowed his brows "What was romantic?", he asked, his arms still crossed, his body tense.

" The dying scene, when O says she's cold and Chon, even though he's dying too and is weak and barely able to move, manages to scoot closer to her and throws an arm around her, in an attempt to warm her. I mean that's love! He truly loves her, unlike that other guy that I really don't like, and she doesn't realize it! I think she is fonder of that one than Chon, and that's so sad and…and unfair!" she gestured the tv screen, talking excitedly, her voice rising an octave.

His eyes were laughing as he looked at her, and she was the sweetest girl he had ever met._ Wait, what? No. I mean, sure she's sort of pretty, but she's not really my type. I've never liked sweetness. Little girls are sweet and cute, and I like women, strong and confident women. _But, still, she was so endearing as she talked animatedly about a movie as if it was something real, and a matter of the utmost importance furthermore. She noticed his stare, and she must have felt self-conscious because she stopped and asked nervously "What?".

He chuckled "Nothing love, just thinking", he shakes his head.

She fumbles with her robe, now closed to cover her pajamas, "About what?"

He shrugged, " Numerous things. Life isn't fair Caroline, and even more so love. How can you expect something that, even if it does indeed exists, is feeble at best, to be fair?".

"You don't think love exists?" she asked.

"I have my doubts. I don't think I've ever seen true love so, I guess I am at least skeptical. For me it's just something everyone talks about, looks for and says exists, but that I have yet to verify."

"Well that's…sad. I mean, what about you? Have you ever been in love?" she asked, angling her body to face him, her head supported by her arm, resting on a pillow. Klaus was still in the same position he was in when she first entered the room a couple of hours ago.

"No" he answers readily, his face emotionless "I have never been in love. I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't really exists, and if it does, not for me. And I'm perfectly content with that. I have never felt the desire to love or be loved".

"Well that's not true" she says.

He raises and eyebrow "You sound pretty sure of yourself, Caroline. What happened to your opinions not to be taken into account?"

"I learned they are worth listening to", she said proudly. "And yes, I'm sure. Everyone needs to be loved, and everyone wants to. It's a universal knowledge", she raised her chin.

"Debatable", he said simply, and she was afraid she had upset him. God, what was she thinking? She barely knew him, he had opened his home to her and she had to went and make crazy assumptions about such private matters? It was a miracle he hadn't yelled at her to get out of his room and not talk to him ever again.

They stayed in silence for a while. It was awkward, and she knew she should leave, but she felt strangely, in a twisted way, comfortable with him, just lying on the bed. Even if he was mad at her. Maybe the doctor would find out that is not her body the problem, but her mind. She must have some psychiatric problem, or else her comfort with silent and angry Klaus had no explanation.

The tv was off now, and she wished she could suggest another movie, but since it was his room he should be the one to. Maybe he wanted to sleep and would ask her to leave. She really didn't want to be alone. The mere thought had her chest constricting, her lungs obstructed by some invisible force.

Thankfully, he broke the silence, solving her dilemma, "Do you want to watch another movie?", he asked her. His voice was as calm and collected as ever and she was surprised to notice he wasn't angry or annoyed as he had seemed to be seconds ago. She had probably just misread his facial expression. She should read a book about non -verbal communication.

"Aren't you tired?", she asked him.

He shrugged grimacing, "Not really. I'm not much of a sleeper, my mind is way too overactive to allow me to have a good eight hours sleep" he smiled tightly, "And I'm still set on the London time zone" he concluded.

The mention of the English capital brought so many questions on the forefront of her mind about Klaus, his family, the U.K. and many other subjects, but the one she actually asked was, "Where are we?". She realized she had never actually asked (and no one had told her) where they were.

He looked at her slightly taken aback, surprised that his dutiful and meticulous brother had not covered the basic steps, "We're near Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates", he explained, sounding like a text book.

Her eyes went monstrously wide, "What?" she shrieked, jumping in a sitting position on the bed, her robe falling open once again.

He sat up straighter, and finally uncrossed his arms. His first instinct was to reach out to her, and his arm moved of his own accord to touch her back, meaning to stroke it comfortingly. He managed, however, to stop the offending and way too independent limb from reaching its goal and embarrass him. "What's wrong?", he asked.

She could feel the concern in his voice, but she couldn't dwell on it now, no matter how much her chest warmed hearing it, "What's wrong?! We're in the Emirates!", she looked around frantically, trying to remember exactly where the Emirates were_. I mean, I have some sort of amnesia, right? Maybe I don't recall the correct position. Or maybe in the span of time I have removed from my mind, another Country was formed and took the same name? is it even possible to switch names?! _She was panicking, her breaths coming short.

He got off the bed and walked to the edge, close to her, his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to have her look at him, gently shaking her "Caroline, calm down. Breathe" he ordered, breathing slowly and heavily, encouraging her to mimic him. She did, and her breathing returned regular, but it did nothing to calm her nerves and her internal breakdown. She felt better though, so much she even noticed that his hands were so big to circle her shoulders, and they were warm and strong, but somewhat soft. The simple touch sent a shiver down her back. Unluckily, he noticed too, because he removed them. Her shoulders sagged a little at the loss. "What is the problem, love?", he asked, once he was sure she could form a coherent sentence. _Oh, did the word 'love' always sound so heavenly? Because he made it sound so soft and sweet. Although even the harshest word existing in the any of the used languages would probably sound smooth and enticing, if it was spoken with his voice and if it passed through those full and luscious lips…_

"They're so far away!", she spoke, her voice high pitched, tears already forming in her eyes.

He looked at her, puzzled "Away from what, exactly?".

She got up and went to stand in front of him, "Well…from…" she looked around the room, her arms rising at her sides, blinking back tears "From everything!", her arms fell soundly against her body, hands slapping on her thighs. "What…what am I doing here? How the hell did I get here?", she almost shouted. She felt angry, so angry. She craved answers and she could not have her. She was completely alone, no one to turn to, no one able to answer her, no one to rely on. No family, no friends…nothing. And it made no sense because she knew, she just knew, she wasn't supposed to be there. Her vision was blurry with unshed tears, "It's just that…" she sighed raggedly, trying to steadying her voice unsuccessfully, "It's so far from home…wherever it is".

He looked at her, so small and scared as she bowed her head in a vain attempt to hide her wet cheeks, and he was positive he had never felt so useless, not even when Rebekah was a child and came to him with scraped knees, or when she was older and her wounds were ones of the heart. However he decided that the only possible course of action was the same one he used with his sister: hug her, caress her hair softly and gently lull her_. Would it be appropriate? I don't really know her. What if she's the kind of person that doesn't want to be touched when upset? What if I upset her even more? And, even if my touch is welcomed, what can I say to comfort her? I don't have answers… _, but then he remembered what Bekah once told him : 'You don't have to say anything Nik. Just hold me'. And that he did to Caroline. He stood in front of her and hugged her lithe form, trying very hard not to dwell on the feeling of her body pressed tightly against his, and hold her silently. At some point he found his lips brushing her hair, inhaling her sweet – was it vanilla, or maybe peaches?- scent, and hoped that she didn't feel that. No need to creep her out more than strictly necessary.

The two of them didn't know how long they stood there, but after a while Caroline felt her legs stiff and aching, and looked up at Klaus, her face pale except for her nose and lips, swollen and red as roses.

Klaus tried to not think about how kissable they looked.

"Uhm, I better go to sleep now. Or at least pretend to", she whispered with a small smile, disentangling herself form his arms.

"What's wrong?" he asked for the umpteenth time that night.

She hugged her torso and looked at her feet, "Oh nothing."

He stared at her, dumbfounded, an eyebrow raised. "Okay, I mean, there is something but…it's stupid" she waved it off.

His hands went to his pockets, "It's not stupid if it keeps you up at night. What is it?".

She breathed in deeply. "The doctor's coming over tomorrow. I mean, today" she said, still avoiding looking at him.

"Oh", _so that is it._ "And you can't sleep because…" he trailed off, wanting for her to answer freely, expressing with her own words exactly what she felt.

"Because I'm scared, Niklaus", she said, looking at him. "What if there's something wrong? What if he finds something horrible? I don't know if want to know what happened to me", she explained, "I don't know if I can handle it".

"Well, you can choose", he said.

"Choose?" she furrowed her brows in confusion.

He nodded, leaning on the small column of the four posted bed. "Yes, you can choose what you want to know. You can decide: either you'll learn the whole truth, or just part of it. But, I'm not going to lie to you, Caroline", he said quietly, looking at her straight in the eyes, nailing her on the spot ,"The truth is probably going to be ugly. We found you in the desert, who knows how long you had been out there, and I doubt you just got lost during a safari. It is highly probable that you were kidnapped, abused and maybe raped. But we don't know that for sure, and you don't remember any of it, which could be the best thing that ever happened to you, or the worst. Or," he went on, "You can choose to turn your head to the other side, and not face it. Face just some part of the truth, and live your life happily unaware of what you went through until, or should I say if, you remember again everything that happened. But it is your choice".

"What did you graduate in?" she asked.

He was taken aback by the question, "I majored in Business, with a minor in Art History" he answered nonetheless. "Why?", he was genuinely perplexed.

The corner of her lips turned down, the expression that universally said 'I don't know' on her face. "I thought you were a lawyer…or a philosopher".

She sighed, thinking about his words. They were true. She could choose to not know, and that would be it. The problem, though, was: could she handle knowing? Could she handle not knowing? She truly couldn't tell. She was at an impasse. _Oh, impasses sucked!_

She huffed, "I'll think about it. But I really don't know what to do…anyway, I'm going to sleep for real now" she smiled, "I'm tired. Thanks so much Niklaus, and sorry if I bothered you", she walked to the door.

He smiled a little, "You're more than welcome Caroline, and you didn't bother me at all. It was nice having company for a change", and then he added, "And you can call me Klaus".

She smiled, opening the door "Goodnight then, Klaus".

"Goodnight Caroline".

His voice resonated in her ears as she fell asleep soon after, in her bed.

* * *

The next day, the doctor came and visited Caroline thoroughly. It wasn't the pleasantest thing she ever experienced, but luckily it wasn't traumatic or uncomfortable. He took samples of her blood, tested her for allergies, asked her questions she couldn't answer to, told her she had probably suffered from dehydration and malnutrition, checked her for scars and injuries – it turned out she no longer had her appendix and her tonsils- and he then proceeded with a gynecological examination. Apparently, she wasn't a virgin anymore, and it was clear she didn't endure a C-section, so it was possible she didn't have any children, but he couldn't be one hundred percent sure. She had numerous scars, some apparently more recent than others, suggesting abuse.

After a lot of thinking, she decided on the moment, instinctively, that she wanted to know what happened to her –as far as the doctor could tell- and that, _yes_, she could handle the truth. The truth, wasn't something certain in her case, and she couldn't honestly say if it was something relieving or distressing. Now that she made her decision, she needed to know, she craved answers, but no one could gave them to her. She hadn't been raped recently, as she had no cuts or lacerations on her genital area, but he couldn't tell about the time before she was found. Having no memories of her life, particularly of the period of life when she got the scars, was a positive thing since she couldn't remember the horrible things that supposedly happened to her; but at the same time, it made her feel weirdly detached, as if in a dream, where she could understand rationally that she was the subject of those tortures, but couldn't really comprehend, couldn't really feel like they happened to her. They were just words, said by some doctor, about some girl, and she knew it was her, but she didn't really _knew _it was her. They happened to some unfortunate young woman she didn't know a thing about, just like she didn't know a thing about those tortures if not what the doctor could deduce. She felt sort of dizzy.

After promising to send the result of the lab tests as soon as possible, he left after talking briefly to Elijah, who came right away to see how she was. She was in one of the guest rooms in the same hall where her room was, and he knocked gently. "May I come in?", his head peeked into the room.

"Of course", she smiled, "You kind of are already".

He nodded and strode towards the bed, "How did it go?" he asked politely, respectful of her privacy.

"As expected, I think. I may have been tortured and raped, who knows", she shrugged, "nothing we didn't already suspect. Anyway," she sighed, "I'm glad I know about it. Who knows…maybe it will be useful someday".

"Yes, who knows." He nodded, staring at her pensively. "You're different Caroline. You are more…sure of yourself. You seem less scared", he noticed.

She smiled, "I am".

His eyes were two slits now, as he scrutinized her, "Is there a specific reason for this sudden, but very much appreciated, change?".

She shrugged, as a face that seemed more attractive than it did the previous days and a velvety voice flashed through her mind and ears, "No, no reason at all".

* * *

"What are you reading?", she asked suddenly. If she had scared him, he didn't show it, because he sat as still as a statue, the book in his hands, his gaze never wavering.

"An essay that compares the military strategies of Gaius Iulius Caesar, one of the most famous Roman emperors – even if the title is inappropriate- and Napoleon Bonaparte, the notorious French emperor", he said laconically.

She rested her hand on the seatback of the chair he was sitting in and looked up to the clear sky. It was so blue and thin, she felt the urge to plunge into it, as if it was an endless sea, limpid, cool and pure. They were in the garden, he was often in the garden, and that was the reason why she was there. After the brief talk with Elijah, she wanted to find Klaus and talk to him. She didn't have a definite topic in mind, she just wanted to talk to him and be in his presence, and she thought to see if he was in the garden after checking his empty room, and there he was, sitting on a white chair, seemingly not too eager to spend some time with her._ Oh well, _she thought, _at least I'm going to enjoy the sun and the open air._ She looked around and she spotted another white chair abandoned under a tree, she grabbed it and placed it next to the one Klaus was reading on, dressed in black as usual. She closed her eyes, threw her head back, sighed contently and enjoyed the sun.

After a while Klaus was not able to stay focused on that essay anymore. Caroline was wearing jean shorts and a white sleeveless shirt, knotted just above her shorts, not showing an inch of milky skin, he noticed darkly. She looked happy and content, and he was happy that the doctor appointment hadn't shaken or upset her. At least, she didn't look shaken or upset.

He closed the book, not bothering to mark the page he was reading, "So," he started, " you seem in a good mood. Did the visit with the doctor go…well?" he concluded the sentence lamely, not able to come up with better adjectives.

She kept her eyes closed, "Yes. Sort of. I mean, he couldn't give me sure answers or anything like that, but he has my same suspicions. Our suspicions", she corrected herself, "But, who knows… if I will ever get my memory back I'll know. If not…" she trailed off.

"That couldn't have been easy for you Caroline. You're very brave. I'm impressed", he said. And it was true. Klaus wasn't by any means a chauvinist or a sexist, but he couldn't say the name of more than two women that could inspire such respect and admiration in him as Caroline did in that moment. And those two names belonged to two members of his family.

"Yeah, sure." She waved him off, slightly embarrassed by his comment, not letting herself believe him.

"I'm serious", he said decisively and his tone had her open her eyes and straighten her head to look at him, "I'm impressed, and not many people have the ability to impress me".

"Should I feel honored?".

He shrugged, "You may feel as you wish about it. I was merely stating a fact".

The next hour was spent mostly in silence, Klaus pretending to read, Caroline pretending to sun bathe. They both felt at ease, comforted by the presence of the other, which in Caroline's situation was understandable. A therapist could have probably said that she was using Klaus as an anchor, a lifesaver, something to keep her grounded, the home base to return to when she needed to feel safe and nestled. A therapist would have had more trouble explaining the reason why Klaus felt comforted and pleased by her presence, since he didn't need comfort, and she didn't do anything physically pleasant with him. And physically pleasant activities were the main activities he performed with women, if they were not related to him, or shared his sexual preferences.

Just as Klaus was starting to reach a level or relax he hadn't felt in years, and just as he was contemplating how pretty Caroline was – even though she was so _not_ his type, not at all- his cell phone, which had been blissfully silent for the past week, buzzed.

He read the text message, and he couldn't dwell on Caroline's blonde hair nor his muscles could persist in their lax state, as another intimately familiar face and a mane of brown hair flashed unwelcomely in his mind

**Since you apparently have no intention to come back here for the time being, I'm coming there. I'll be there in two days. No need to pick me up. Hayley**

He suppressed a groan, throwing his head back to look at the sky, blaming it.

_Oh, shit!_

* * *

**Reviews?**


	5. Chapter 5

**I know, I know. It's been FOREVER. But I was really busy with the hospital, and studying and exams. And I was more than a little bit stuck with this story, even more so because of the low number of reviews: I don't know if I'm doing it right or wrong without feedback, and it is discouraging. Anyway, that's a new chapter.**

**The info about Lupus were taken from Wikipedia.**

**Enjoy it and let me know what you think! **

Klaus had the incredible ability to behave just like an ostrich: his mind shunned form anything it considered unpleasant and shoved it away in a dark, secluded corner, ignoring it until it was forced to face it.

And that was exactly what he did that evening in regards of the abominable text message.

He shoved his phone in his pocket, and looked at Caroline, "Have you ever been on a dromedary?" he asked stupidly. Of course she couldn't know if she ever did.

She opened her eyes slowly, her peaceful dozing interrupted, "No", she said, her voice feeble, her eyes barely open.

"Would you like to ride one?", he asked, deciding to overlook her tiredness.

"Okay", she answered. Her body was limp, not yet fully awake and reactive, still in that wonderfully relaxed condition it was just mere moments before, and she groaned a little when she tried to get up. God, she felt eighty years old.

They walked out of the garden, and for the first time Caroline could see what there was outside of it. There was a vast and immeasurable desert, tinted a vivid red, and just outside of the garden but still in the property limits, there was a white –_white? How could anything placed among a sea of sand be white?_\- building. As they approached it, she noticed two people, a middle aged man and a tall boy, moving inside of it, busy with feeding the animals.

"Hello Ahmed", Klaus said to the man, who was walking up to them, his white teeth a sharp contrast with his tan skin as he smiled, a veil of sweat glistening on his forehead. "Hello Mr. Mikaelson", he said with his thick accent, bowing more than Caroline thought was necessary, never once averting his gaze from Klaus, even if he never looked at him straight in the eyes.

"I wanted to show to my friend, Miss…" he paused for a moment as he gestured her to Ahmed with his hand, both him and her noticing in that moment that she didn't have a surname to go by. Klaus recovered so quickly that Ahmed couldn't register the brief pause, "Caroline", he opted for the first name, even if that sounded a bit too informal for his liking, "the stall and take her for a ride on the dromedary. It's her first time", he said smiling slightly.

The man nodded, and shouted something to the boy, whose name was Karim, who ran somewhere in the building only to show up minutes later with a saddle and promptly put on the animal's back.

"Here", Klaus bent to host her on the dromedary, "let me help you". And Caroline was on top of the animal, higher than she expected, more excited than she realized.

"Wow" was all she could manage to say, looking out at the expanse of sand before her, so vast and endless.

Meanwhile, Klaus had mounted and was now by her side, "I know", he simply said and then turned to her to explain how to ride and steer the dromedary. "Don't let it fool you, they are tougher than they look, incredibly strong and fast. You'll need a sure hand, decisive movement. Do not hesitate." he instructed, showing her how to pull the reins, "And use your voice too. They need to hear you, and they answer to some sentences. They're actually quite smart," he smiled.

She looked at him curiously, surprised by the apparent fondness he had for the specie "You really like them, uh? I would have never thought…".

"What do you mean?", his voice was confused.

She shrugged, "Oh, just that you always seem so calm and composed", _and regal_ , "That I took you for the horse lover kind of guy, instead of the dromedary one. I was wrong".

He stared ahead at the setting sun, "Well, I happen to love horses, in fact I own one back home. But I cannot deny I enjoy this creatures too", he patted the neck of his dromedary affectionately, "They are incredibly resilient". He paused briefly and then smirked, looking at her, "And then, they are more suited for this environment, so it would be stupid to prefer horses, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess so".

They rode into the open space, never straying too far from the mansion. Caroline found herself enjoying immensely the activity, realizing she had felt claustrophobic in the house, and some fresh air was just what she needed. It was odd that she didn't feel alone, and not just because Klaus was there with her, but because of the animal that was carrying her, his presence comforting. The desert was beautiful, a kaleidoscope of colors before her eyes, so grand and immense she was sure her feeble eyes would never be able to catch all those shades and nuances; yet, even if she felt humble in front of such grandiosity, at the same time she felt empowered, recharged and hopeful in a future full of possibilities.

"So", she started after a while, turning to face Klaus, "What do you do for a living?"

"Didn't my brother tell you?", he was sure Elijah told him and Kol he had told Caroline a bit about their family.

She nodded, "Yes, but he was vague and talked mostly about what he does, he didn't say anything about you or Kol".

"Well, as you may know my family is in the communication business. Elijah is the CEO and Vice President, he makes all the decisions, he has the final word on all projects and mostly gets the company new contracts and clients", he explained, "Kol runs the tech department: he is the one in charge to develop and supervise the new projects, my sister Rebekah is in charge of the marketing and PR of our new campaigns and charity events, whi-"

"Your sister?" Caroline interrupted him, her brows furrowing.

"Yes, Rebekah", he nodded, "You didn't know about her?" he asked.

"No, none of you ever mentioned her".

"Oh", he shrugged, "well, she's younger than us, just a year younger than Kol actually, even if it doesn't seem that way most of the time", his brother immaturity was proverbial, while Bekah was always so intense, always taking everything seriously and getting crushed for that.

"Do you two get along?" she inquired.

"Not really. We're polar opposites. She believes in love and happy endings, she has this…craving for love. I don't share her optimism and I'm not going to get stomped on by every passing pretty face." He smirked.

She had the feeling that while it may have been true that the two of them were opposites, it wasn't exactly true that they didn't get along. Klaus spoke about his sister too fondly and affectionately for it to be any other way. She went back to her question, "So, you were telling me about your job".

"Oh, right. As I was saying, I am the accountant of the corporation, I –"

"Accountant?", she raised a brow sarcastically.

Klaus huffed, "Must you always interrupt me, Caroline?", he looked at her straight in the eyes, scolding her as if she was a child. She was surely behaving like one. How humiliating, especially since she knew he was right. She turned red. Probably. She wasn't a hundred percent sure, but she was almost sure of it. Thank god she could blame it on the sun…say it was a sun-burn or something like that.

She bent her head in an attempt to hide it, "Sorry, please go on".

He closed his eyes, sighing "Don't worry about it. I was rude. Forgive me", he apologized while looking out at the setting sun. There are some things that get easier with practice, unfortunately for him and for those around him, apologizing was not one of those things for Klaus. It was always so fucking hard, it was physically exhausting. But Caroline was scared and lost, and he had to remember to be patient and calm, she didn't deserve to be lashed out at as if she was a bad employee (not that he was rude to employees, although some people may disagree).

She smiled, "Please go on", she gestured with her hand, the other stroking the neck of the dromedary tentatively.

"I am the accountant of the company. I make sure that we're not going to bankrupt, that all the paychecks are paid, that everything is in place, and I'm the one that will end up in jail when the government discovers all our illegal business and all our unpaid taxes" he explained.

She stared at him wide eyed, not sure if Klaus was trying to be funny or actually serious. _Does he always have to be so impassible? _ He leaned toward her with a hand on his muscular tight, still as serious as ever, when he suddenly smirked, "Caroline I'm just joking. Laugh a little" he said conspiratorially.

She chuckled nervously, because she always felt a bit unsettled around Klaus more than around everyone else, he was the most unreadable and impenetrable person in a world already so difficult to read for her. "I would have never thought you were an accountant".

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Is that so? Why? Don't you think I'm smart enough?" his tone was light but it did not mask his genuine curiosity.

She shook her head, "Of course not. It's just that…I don't know, I can't quite picture you sitting at a desk with a calculator in hand all day long. You give off the artsy-creative-kind-of-guy vibe to me".

He stared at her for a long moment, the intensity of it startling Caroline, making her wonder if she had said something wrong. "Well, you're not wrong", he turned his dromedary around toward the stable and she followed his lead, "I love art and I paint occasionally. It's just a hobby, I'm not actually good at it, but I enjoy it" he said dismissively .

"Wow, that's great!" Caroline mused as they entered the white building. "Can I see some of your work, sometime? I mean-", she dismounted her dromedary, the not so easy task adding nervousness to her tone, making senseless mumbling even worse, "-when you have the time. If, you have the time. And of course if you want to".

He smiled at her and offered her arm as they walked back to the house where dinner was surely waiting for them. "I don't have any of my paintings here, but sure love, I'll show some of them to you when I have the chance", he placed her hand on the crook of his elbow.

"You know, I envy people with talent like you. I don't know if I have one, but I feel that I've always envied those who had it, because I didn't", she scrunched her brows together and looked up at him, her expression slightly apologetic, "Does it makes sense?".

He shrugged, "Of course it does. You may not remember facts and notions, but I think that emotions are engrained too deeply into us to ever be fully removed" he opened the door that lead into the garden they had spent a great part of the afternoon in. "I think, but I'm no expert of course, that it is something akin to muscle memory" he concluded.

"Like some sort of emotional memory?" she pondered as they stood in front of the glass doors that led inside.

He nodded, "Yes, exactly. But then again" he said as he opened the doors for her, "I don't really know anything about it".

Dinner was pleasant as it had been the previous days. It was hypnotizing watching the three brothers interact,

quipping sarcastically to each other back and forth like some kind of tennis match she was more than happy to be left out of. Although, there was a small part of her that ached to be included into that kind of banter, share that sort of bond that only people who had grown up together share.

The familial ambience they created was strangely comfortable for her, giving the feeling of warmth, safety and shelter, things she fiercely desired and longed for. Or maybe it was the red wine, who knows.

Yes, dinner was very pleasant , as it always was, but she couldn't deny that the afternoon had a large role in her giddiness. The garden, the desert, the ride. And Klaus of course. Klaus was…indescribable. There was something so raw and primal about him, his stare was so intense. He appeared to be impassive and unreadable most of the time, silently observing everything around him, but when he did spoke, there was so much purpose and passion, a cold fire burning behind his hooded grey eyes, and then there was his voice_. God, his voice…_that voice. That voice did _things _to her. Deliciously sinful things. Things that had her mind spinning, her knees weak and her imagination run wild…

"Has Nik entertained you satisfactorily?" she heard someone addressing her, and those words, given the thoughts she had been having in that moment, made her blush, as if someone could actually guess where her mind had gone to, and she felt exposed, before telling herself that nobody could know just how she had been thinking about Klaus satisfying her. _You don't even know him for God's sake! Show some restraint!_ She chastised herself.

"Mmmh" she nodded at Kol, drinking more wine.

Elijah furrowed his thick brows, "Are you feeling hot Caroline? You seem flushed…do you want me to lower the temperature?" he motioned to stand up.

She shook her head, "No, no I'm fine. It's probably the wine" she gestured to her third empty glass.

The older man got up from his chair, buttoning his blazer. Yes, he actually did eat with his suit on. In his own home. "I've got some business to attend to. Enjoy your evening" and he then walked swiftly up the stairs.

Kol clapped his hands, "Well, well. What shall we do to pass the night then?" he asked expectantly.

Klaus didn't move, Caroline shrugged. Kol huffed, his shoulder sagging, "What a lively duo…What about we drink some of that fine whiskey Elijah had Mariam buy for him a week ago?". His chair screeched as he got up, and he then run to the kitchen. Loud clanking noises came from the kitchen and voices that seemed to be arguing, but after a couple of minutes a beaming Kol emerged, a bottle of amber liquid in one hand, and three tumblers in the other.

"Ah, now that's whiskey", he breathed as he set the bottle and glasses on the table, then looked around, as if just realizing where he was, and announced that they couldn't drink the nectar (Yes, he called it nectar) in a squalid dining room. Caroline wanted to say that there was absolutely nothing even remotely squalid about the lavish dining room, but thought better of it. You have to know what battles to pick.

And so they went up the two flights of stairs, and in a matter of minutes Caroline was staring open mouthed at the dark desert in front of her, from the roof of the palace.

"I know", Kol said condescendingly and proudly at the same time, smirking at her awed expression.

They sat in some wood chairs and drank the whiskey (it was really good, though not really Caroline's thing) and chatted a bit more. Well, they mostly listened to Kol's absurd and crazy anecdotes, trying to figure out the few truths among all those lies.

"Time to take a nap" he announced stumbling, "Night Nik", he patted him on the head as he passed by, "Night Caroline", he bent down to kiss her on the cheek, surprising her for a moment, before she relaxed. She noticed that Klaus too was stiff.

"Night Kol", she called, looking worriedly at his retreating, wavering form. "I hope he won't fall down the stairs" she murmured.

"With all the alcohol he drank I doubt he would feel the pain of a broken bone", Klaus said, taking the last sip of his whiskey. They didn't say anything for a long time, and the silence was unnerving Caroline. Was it as awkward for him as it was for her?

"So…" she broke the silence, "I had fun today". Okay, not the most brilliant thing to say, but at least it was something.

"I'm glad", Klaus kept looking at the stars, his body relaxed against the wooden chair, sighing softly. "We could go again tomorrow" he offered.

She reclined on the chair, shivering slightly from the cold, and gazed at the stars, "I'd like that", she smiled.

"There are so many, how can people distinguish them? " she mused more to herself than to him, not even bothering to explicating the subject of her musings. He understood and answered her anyway. "I guess that with the appropriate motivation people are capable of anything." He got up and came to kneel beside her "That one is the constellation of Lupus, the Wolf", he pointed with his finger at a group of stars. She furrowed her brows "I can't see it".

He moved his finger to trace the shape of the constellation, "Can you see it now?"

She pursed her lips, squinting her eyes, "Mmm…I guess. I mean, I see the shape but it doesn't really look like a wolf to me".

He chuckled, "Well, you are actually right. You know, for many centuries it wasn't even a constellation, but it was an asterism within Centaurus, that one" he pointed to another group of star, way bigger than the previous, right next the Lupus constellation.

"What is an asterism?" she asked.

"A pattern of stars that usually it is part of an official, and bigger, constellation" he responded quickly. "So, for centuries they viewed it as the animal that the Centaurus was killing in his hunt, and then they viewed it as a simple bystander" he went on, "It was Hipparcus than named it Therion, the Beast, in the 200s BC".

"Wow", she was impressed at his knowledge of the stars and their history, amazed that there could be so much history behind it. "That still doesn't explain why the named it the Wolf", she pointed out.

He shrugged, "Studious think that it is probably based on the Babylonian figure known as the Mad Dog, a strange hybrid creature that combined the head and torso of a man with the legs and tail of a lion. It is often associated with the sun god and another mythical creature that is supposedly related to the Greek constellation of the Centaurus. It were the Latins that translated it to the Wolf".

"You really know a lot of this stuff", she said, feeling stupid at her choice of words.

He smirked, and it was as if someone had just punched her in the stomach. How had she not noticed before how attractive he was? Sure, not in the canonic standards of beauty, but there was something so dark, deep, twisted and intense in the way he spoke, in the way he moved, in his hypnotizing eyes. Most of all, his eyes were so intense she could physically feel them caressing her whenever he looked at her.

"Actually, I only know about this one. It is my favorite" he said, "I know very little about the other constellations and nothing at all about the ones of the zodiac in case you were wondering", as he spoke, he put his hands up as if to stop her from asking questions about the abhorring subject.

"Okay, okay relax", she smiled, "I wasn't going to ask you anything. How come you got into stars and constellations? It seems like a very peculiar interest to me".

He shrugged, looking up at the sky once again and then returning to look at her, "I knew a person who was very passionate about it and she spent hours talking about it, so it rubbed off on me."

She scrutinized him, pursing her lips while thinking, "Was she your girlfriend?" she asked bluntly.

He avoided her gaze, "Sort of".

"Did you love her?"

"I thought I did. But who knows if it was truly love? It was a long time ago, I was very young. I thought I loved a lot of things at the time", he shifted stiffly.

"Did I made you uncomfortable?", she looked at him concernedly, "I'm sorry Klaus, I didn't mean to. It was indelicate and noisy of me to ask you something so personal. Sorry", she apologized again, touching the back of his hand with hers, trying to express her regret through her body.

He gave her a little smile, "Not at all sweetheart. You didn't overstepped any boundaries. It is ancient history".

She was doubtful, "You sure?"

He nodded, smiling wider this time "I'm sure. And if you ever make me uncomfortable, I'll let you know", he lied. Klaus would rather stab himself through the heart with a knife rather than admitting that something could hurt him or upset him. He has been like this ever since he was a little boy, and he doubted he would change now.

She smiled, apparently believing him. He sprung to his feet and held out his hand to her, "Come on love. It's getting cold out here, and I'm a bit tired". She took his hand and they made their way back down the stairs.

"Can I ask you something?", her feeble voice made him flinch.

He sighed, "Are you going to ask me for permission every time you want to ask me a question, from now on?", he wasn't sure he could put up with that.

She grimaced, "Sorry", she looked at her feet, embarrassment filling her, "I wanted to ask you if you have a girlfriend now", she said. Talking about his past lovers had made her curious. It was true that Klaus (or his brothers) never mentioned a girlfriend or wife, but she doubted a man as attractive as him could be single, unless it was by his own choice. Even then though, she was sure his life was not scarce of the female element.

He looked at her and saw her genuine curiosity. She wasn't asking with malice or to flirt, she was just curious of the man she now shared a house with. One of the three complete strangers she didn't know anything about and that she shared a house with now.

"No, not really", he said.

Her eyebrows raised and she turned to take a better look at him, "Really? I don't believe you", she said skeptically.

He laughed, "You are free to do that. But it is true. I don't have a girlfriend", he stated.

She squinted her eyes, she seemed to be doing that a lot that evening, "Are you sure?".

It was his turn to raise his eyebrows, thought his were raised in amusement, "I'm pretty positive, yes. I would know, don't you think?".

"Mmm, not necessarily", she shrugged, "Maybe you are having a fling with someone and giving her the wrong message and she's more into you than you are into her, but if you haven't clearly stated that you're not together, she may think otherwise", she rambled.

When they stopped in front of her door, he was looking at her wide eyed, "That would be horrible", he shivered and then composed himself. "Thankfully, that is not my case at all", he smirked once again.

"Good for you", she smiled and opened her door. "Goodnight Klaus". She didn't know what came over her, what force possessed her to do it, but next thing she knew, she was leaning on her toes to kiss him lightly and quickly on the cheek. She felt him stiffen for a second and then relaxed again.

He smiled, "Goodnight Caroline".

She closed the door, and couldn't help the smile that stretched over her face. Her lips burned.

He turned around and walked back to his room, trying to ignore the flame that was burning in the spot where her lips touched his flesh.

Just as he was turning the knob, he saw Elijah approaching , "Niklaus!", he called him.

"Yes, Elijah?"

"Go to the living room. There is someone waiting for you".

Klaus furrowed his brows, but walked quickly down the stairs. Who could be at that hour? And there, in the middle of the desert. The sooner he got over with it, the better. He kept running through his mind trying to figure out who could possible demand to see him at that ungodly hour, but as he passed the threshold of the room, his mind came up with the answer at the same time his eyes fell on a brunette mane and a petite, pert ass. He wanted to groan. And run. And hide. And anything else but be there, in that room, with that person, about to endure a very unpleasant conversation.

But he couldn't, so he politely greeted the girl that was now fully facing him with a scowl.

"Good evening, Hayley".

**Baci**

**Marta**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry, but life got in the way.**

* * *

"Klaus. What a honor to be in your presence!", she exclaimed placing a manicured hand over her chest, her transparent green eyes slicing Klaus, as they always did.

He gave her a tight lipped smirk, as he always did, especially when he was uncomfortable. Or annoyed. Or tired. Or amused. Okay, let's just leave it at: as he always did.

"The honor is mine, as always" he bowed mockingly, earning a glare and a pout from the woman in front of him. "What are you doing here, Hayley? And at this ungodly hour nonetheless", he asked as he sat down on the sofa, his arms spread on the back.

He swore, if looks could kill, he would be dead. Hayley was glaring so hard, he was sure it was bound to leave some sort of sign on his face, or cause some kind of damage like in those Star Wars movies Kol forced him to watch. But that was illogical, right? Jedis did not exist, and even if they did, they were always men. Thank God for sexism.

"What I'm doing here is my job. And yours too, since you seem to have forgotten you actually have work to do. I know it may be shocking news for you, but the world doesn't stop just because you decided to go on vacation and forget technology. Just like I haven't disappeared or have started to fill in your place for you just because you decided to ignore my calls and texts", as she finished her scolding, she let a heavy folder of papers fall on the glass coffee table in front of him. He inspected it slowly and deliberately, and then gazed at her, still standing in front of him.

"You know, I could fire you for the way you speak to me", he said, cocking his head.

She nodded, "Yes. And I could sue you for so many reasons we would probably stay up the whole night just listing them", she put a hand on her bony, tight pencil skirt clad hip, "And then", she added, sitting down beside him on the white couch, "Where would you find an assistant as wonderful as me?".

He sighed. As much as he hated to admit it out loud, she was right. She could sue him for harassment or any other thing, and while he would come out of anything with a generous amount of money, it really wouldn't do any good to the company. But he knew she would never do such a thing, just like she knew he would never fire her. And not because of their past, or its consequences, but because they were a good team: she was one of the few people that was able to put up with his temper and attitude, and she was a really excellent assistant, organized and efficient, an invaluable asset.

"Probably on Craiglist", he bit back, starting to look through the papers. "What's the matter?".

And so, the second part of the night began.

* * *

Caroline was skipping down the stairs, headed for the dining room with a smile on her face. The sun was shining, the birds chirping and life just seemed great that day. Her thoughts about the perfect quietness of her life ended abruptly when she heard voices coming from the kitchen. The reason she haltered her course and went to check was that one of the voices was a female one.

"Really Klaus? You are in the Emirates and you got this shitty American coffee? Have you lost your mind all of a sudden?". The woman talking was a very gracious young lady, with flowing brunette hair and pouty lips, who was sitting at the table evidently disheveled and tired, holding a mug of coffee as if her life depended on it.

Klaus was behind her, his back to where Caroline was standing (more like hiding), making some tea. She could see every muscle of his back move underneath the light texture of his grey Henley. "If you're not happy about the libations my dear, feel free to go find something that suits your tastes elsewhere".

She rolled her eyes and smiled fakely "I will survive".

He turned and gave her a dimpled smile, "Too bad", he said and his eyes feel on Caroline, his lips parting in a genuine smile. "Good morning Caroline".

She walked in the kitchen, flushing a bit in front of the tired yet classy girl sitting in front of her, and she waved. The girl stood up from her stool and walked around the table up to Caroline, "I'm Hayley", she extended her hand and Caroline took it, noticing the firm grip of the woman "Klaus's assistant".

"Secretary" he corrected, knowing that Hayley found the term diminishing for some reason. She hated it, so he used it as often as he could. She glared at him.

Caroline watched the exchange and smiled, equally amused and awkward, "Caroline" she introduced herself and started to reach for the cupboard.

"So, how do you know Klaus?" Hayley asked, watching Caroline pour some cereals in a cup and adding yogurt to it.

Caroline's head shot up, her big round eyes watching the other girl and adverting them fastly to Klaus, at loss to what to say. She never had to introduce herself before, so the problem hadn't presented itself yet. Sure, she had thought about it, but she had never been forced to face it directly. Until now.

Hayley was still waiting for an answer to her innocent and logical question, and sensing some tension she added " I'm asking just because I've never seen nor heard your name and since I'm Klaus's assistant I usually know… but I can guess this is personal and don't want to stick my nose in anybody's business" she held her up high in a surrender-like gesture. Caroline relaxed a bit, but she kept her eyes steadily on Klaus. His face was unreadable, as always. He turned around and warmed some water for Caroline's breakfast tea.

The kitchen was silent, and Caroline couldn't stand it. It made her feel so uncomfortable, and she felt the need to fill it.

"So, how come you're here Hayley?", she asked the girl.

"Oh, just some business Klaus needed to take care of but was too busy to. So I figured that if Mohammed will not go to the mountain…". She trailed of and smirked, raising her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, as if Caroline knew what she was talking about. But she didn't. If Mohammed will not go…then what? She smiled, pretending to know what Hayley was talking about, but feeling lost.

The girl smashed her hands on the table and got up "Okay, I'm going to take a shower and catch up with some sleep. I'm jet-lagged. After my beauty rest, we'll go over everything Klaus", and she went upstairs.

"A bit bossy for an assistant" Caroline commented, watching her round the corner that lead to the stairs.

"Extremely. I should fire her", Klaus said, sitting down next to her.

"Where are Kol and Elijah?", she asked, weirded out by their absence.

"They've gone on a 'shopping spree' as Kol put it. They needed to but clothes and some present for Bekah. I think he was just craving for interactions with humans he's not related to", he asserted showing those dimples.

She giggled "That seems fair. Why haven't you gone with them?".

He huffed "I had an hurdle to take care of", he nodded his head toward where Hayley had disappeared moment before.

"Oh yeah, work… well, she seems nice", she said, at loss of anything else to say.

Klaus raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

She widened her eyes, "Come on Klaus. She seems a great assistant. And she's got spunk. She seems tough. I like her" she said, sipping her vanilla tea.

"If by 'spunk' and 'tough' you mean 'annoyingly sarcastic' and 'rude', then yes, we agree".

She threw her head back and laughed, "You are always so overdramatic Klaus", she looked at him, still smiling, "But I admit I like it".

"You do?", he smiled, inching closer to her.

She put her elbows on the table, inching closer too, "Yep. It's incredibly entertaining. You make every situation lighter".

His eyebrows shot up as his eyes rounded disbelievingly, "Lighter? Now that's not an adjective people usually use to describe me, love".

_Love. Oh god why does she love it so much when he says that? _"That's just because they can't see it. I find your overdramatic behavior and your negativity quite hilarious actually, so I can see the fun in it. But", she finished her tea, "maybe that's just because your dark behavior is never directed at me". She smirked.

He nodded, "Maybe".

* * *

Tak, tak, tak.

Klaus was reading on the sofa in the living room since it was too hot and humid to be outside, when she heard the clinking of heels approaching. Caroline didn't wear heels, so the only other options was…

"Hayley", he greeted the girl entering the room, not bothering to look up from the book.

"We need to talk seriously Klaus", she stated stopping in front of him, arms crossed.

"About what?", he still refused to look at her.

"You are aware that you'll eventually need to come back to work, right? I know that you've been stressed and you needed-", "Deserved" he interrupted her. She clenched her jaw and sighed, "Deserved a vacation. Can't blame you, really. But Klaus," her voice softened and she sat on the glass table in front of him, "You need to come back. The company needs you. Vacation's over." She stated, and when he met her eyes, they weren't sarcastic or bossy, but clear and honest as they always were.

He sighed. She was right, he knew it. And he loved his job, but after devoting his every day and hour to it for three years, no days off, the idea of going back to it was claustrophobic. He placed his head on the back of the sofa and looked up at the ceiling. He knew he looked like a boy who didn't want to go to school, but it was exactly how he felt.

"Does Caroline have anything to do with it?", she asked bluntly.

He looked at her, surprised by the question. For all her sass and attitude, Hayley wasn't one to pry in his private matters. She never asked questions, never prodded for information, and vice versa she was a very private person. And that was something Klaus liked about her, and believed helped them in the job. Not knowing much about her prevented him from judging her, while not knowing about her life outside of work allowed him to view her less like a person and more like a worker, a tool.

"Does Caroline has anything to do with what?" came the voice of his little brother, who was walking through the living room, Elijah in tow and two men following with tons of bags. The mere sight was unsettling to Klaus.

Elijah nodded and greeted Hayley "Good afternoon Hayley".

She smiled at him "Hi Elijah", she craned her neck to look at the other Mikaelson, "Hi Kol". He waved his hand at her while shifting through his recent purchases.

"What were you talking about?" Elijah asked, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

Klaus' brows furrowed "Are those jeans?".

The older brother flushed and looked down at his clothes, "I believe so Niklaus. They are a bit unconventional for me, but I do admit they are quite comfortable".

Hayley proceeded to answer his question, "I was telling Klaus that he has a job he needs to go back to. And I was wondering if the thing that's preventing him to do so is Caroline".

Elijah nodded pensive, and Kol stopped his ministrations to join the conversation, "What will we do about Caroline?" he wondered.

"Hayley, could please leave us alone for a moment?" Elijah asked. The girl got up and went to the luscious garden, closing the glass door behind her.

The three men looked at each other.

"So what, are we taking her with us back home?" Kol asked.

"Well, it is the only logical solution", Elijah stated.

"Like a puppy? Oh, I've always wanted a puppy", Kol smiled excited.

"Don't you think we should talk to her and let her decide for herself?", Klaus was irritated by their behavior and it was clear in his harsh voice, "At least have her control over something", he grunted while he stalked toward the stairs.

"Nik, where are you going?",Kol called after him.

"I'm going to ask her", he replied.

Kol and Elijah looked at each other. Then they sighed.

Caroline was writing on a notebook when someone knocked on her door. She put the notebook under her pillow and went to open the door, pleased to see Klaus standing in front of her, greeting him with a warm smile.

"Can I come in, love?" he asked seriously.

She furrowed her brows, taken aback by his stiffness, "Yeah sure", she opened the door further.

He stood in the middle of the room, towering next to her bed, his dark clothes a sharp contrast to the brightness of the room.

"I need to talk to you, Caroline" he started with his back to her.

She neared him, tense and scared, "Is something wrong Klaus?" she asked.

"No, no, nothing's wrong" he turned around to smile at her, but it didn't reach his eyes, "I just wanted to tell you that I, and eventually Elijah and Kol as well, need to go back home. We need to take care of our business."

She felt a suffocating pressure on her chest. It pressed and pressed, and she found it hard to breathe, but tried her best not to show it. "That's great", had she managed to put some joy in her voice? She hoped she did.

"Not really", he said, "Caroline, I wanted to ask you, if you…" he trailed off, looking at her for a brief instant and then averting his eyes. He swallowed and resumed his talk, "Whatever you want to do, is fine. No obligations. If you want to stay here you'll have free access to this house and we'll cover for anything until there'll no longer be need."

"or…?" she prompted him to continue.

He looked at her straight in the eyes, compelling her to stay right where she was, as if he was Medusa and had just turned her into a rock, punishment for daring to look at his beauty. "Or you could come with us, if you want. No obligations, no anything" his eyes wandered around the room, "You won't be forced to stay with us, but we will provide anything you need. I understand if the idea doesn't sound appetizing to-"

"It sounds great" she interrupted him, able to breathe again. He looked at her again, his eyes slightly widened. She smiled blindingly, "It sounds great".

There was a pounding at the door, "So, what will it be Nik?" Kol asked.

Klaus grunted and clenched his fist, "I'm going to kill him". Caroline giggled, amused by their relationship.

"Nik?", he pounded some more.

"She's coming with us", he answered.

"Yoohoo!" Kol exclaimed from the other side of the door." You know what this means, right?"

Klaus groaned "Oh no!". Caroline looked at him confused, but as soon as Kol talked, understanding dawned on her.

"Shopping spree!" Kol shouted.


End file.
